Faceoff - WR Laveranues Coles, New York Jets

Posted 6/23, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by Mike Brown

Seeing the upside in Laveranues Coles this season is easy, since he's just about ALL upside at this point.

A lot of people are down on the New York Jets offense, and with fairly good reason. Their running game is nothing spectacular, and the passing game has been lagging for several seasons now. Yet Coles has managed to put up very good stats despite the issues with the team; the difference now is that he's coming off his worst statistical season since his rookie year.

That could explain why Coles, despite being one of the most productive receivers in the league the past six seasons, is going as the #27 wide receiver off the board. People are shying away from him because of his 2007 numbers. But the only reason for his drop-off in production was a lack of games played. Coles had been extremely durable up until 2007, having played in 104 straight games, when a concussion knocked him out of action. Upon his return, he injured his ankle. The ankle was then re-injured late in the season in a freak accident when the trainer's table collapsed with him on it. What most people fail to realize is that he was the ninth-rated wide receiver in football when the injuries began to hit. So, was the Jets offense amazing in the season's first half? Of course not. Yet there was Coles, putting up big-time stats anyway. Anyone who tries to say his statistical drop-off was due to poor play of either Coles or the team needs to explain what happened in those first seven games. Despite an overall ineptitude of the team, Coles scored six touchdowns and was on pace to crack the 1,000 yard plateau. The only reason his per-game averages aren't in line with career norms is because when he came back he got banged-up again and never was 100% at any point thereafter. What does this mean? It means even if the team is struggling, Coles has shown that he is still a marquee player.

If you think last year was the beginning of a downward spiral for him injury-wise, all I'll say is that he didn't miss a single game in the previous six seasons. And if you assume, as I do, that the injuries were isolated cases and don't constitute Coles suddenly becoming "injury prone", then his playing time will rise back to normal levels, and with it, his productivity.

The last factor Coles detractors will point to is the emergence of youngster Jerricho Cotchery. While it's true that Cotchery enjoyed a breakout season of sorts, it's not as if he suddenly became a big-time threat with Coles out (he scored just twice all year). Not to mention, Cotchery is in a position to succeed more because of his role and not necessarily his ability. Coles is unquestionably more talented than Cotchery, even at this stage of his career, and was given an off-season contract extension to prove his worth to the team.

Downside - by David Dodds

Fantasy football is won by drafting players that exceed expectations. Laveranues Coles is an OK player, but he doesn't excite me at all. He isn't going to take over games. He won't catapult anyone's fantasy roster to elite status. He will plod away getting you 60 to 80 yards a game and sometimes find the endzone. But at WR27 (his current average draft position), I want a player that has some sort of upside.

Make no mistake about it, Coles has no upside. He will be 31 years old this season. He broke down last year and ended the year playing just 11 games. His yards-per-catch average is a paltry 11.7 (down from the high 14s his first four years in the league). Over the last three years (43 games), he has managed just six 100+ yard receiving games. He had just one of these in 2007 and none in 2005. In three of his last 4 seasons, Coles has finished as the 41st, 31st and 39th best wide receiver. All of these signs point to an aging receiver on the downside of his career.

Coles also struggled when Kellen Clemens took over as the starting QB in 2007. It's unsure whether Clemens or Chad Pennington will start in 2008, but it's likely that the Jets could use both quarterbacks again in 2008.

Let someone else grab Coles in your league. For about the same draft position, you can get Chris Chambers, Donald Driver or Jerricho Cotchery. All these players should out-produce Coles in 2008.