Upside by David Yudkin
Coles Keeps Excelling and Adapting to Changing Environments

Career Production Has Consistently Been Headed in the Right Direction
Coles is our 7th ranked WR, and this would represent a significant ranking increase compared to years past. In his three years as a starter, Coles has ranked 23rd, 13th, and 13th.

In that time frame, Coles has succeeded in less than optimal conditions. He started with dinosaur Vinny Testaverde at QB, moved on to an unproven Chad Pennington, and last year had to endure less than stellar play from Patrick Ramsey and Tim Hasselbeck in Washington. For certain, none of those QB at that stage in his career would ever be considered anything near "a stud." To the best of my knowledge, Coles is the only WR who had back-to-back 1,200 yard receiving seasons on two different teams.

Gibbs will make the 4th coach and offensive system that Coles has played in. He has been able to consistently produce at a high level even with strategic personnel and playbook changes.

Enter Mark Brunell & Joe Gibbs
The Redskins brought in former coach Joe Gibbs, who in turn went out and acquired QB Mark Brunell for big bucks.

Gibbs produced 5 WR in his first go round with the Redskins that had 1,100-yard receiving seasons. He even had a season with 3 WR with over 1,000 yards. Gibbs will get the ball to Coles, and with all the other weapons Washington has, it will be nearly impossible for defenses to key in solely on Coles. Clinton Portis alone will accomplish that.

Bottom Line
All this equates to high expectations for Coles this season. He could even post a Top 5 season should things play out in his favor, especially if he can increase his TD receptions.

Downside by Will Grant
I know what you're thinking: How can you be down on a guy who had over 1200 yards receiving and 6 TDs last year? Coles is in his fifth NFL season, and his second season as a starter for Washington. He was easily the team's #1 offensive option last year, and had over 500 yards from scrimmage more than any other player on the team. How can you possibly think this guy is not going to have a fantastic year? Simple: There are more options this year.

In 2003 Trung Candidate lead the Redskins with 597 yards rushing. That's not even in the top 30 for rushing yards. Add in his 71 receiving yards and the leading RB on the team has less than 700 total yards from scrimmage and only 2 TDs last year. It's easy to see why the Redskins traded for Clinton Portis in the offseason. Portis had over 1900 yards from scrimmage for Denver last year and 14 TDs Even if Portis takes a significant stat hit because he is changing teams, he will still be better than what the Redskins had last year.

'But Brunell is a better QB than Ramsey and Hasselbeck, won't that mean they are going to throw more?' This may be true. However, Coles isn't the only option at WR anymore.

Rod Gardner had a horrible year in 2003. 600 yards receiving and 10.2 YPC are not 'starter' quality numbers by anyone's measurements. But he has some solid receiving skills, and he's going to have every opportunity to return to the 1000 yards and 8 TDs he had in 2002.

Darnerian McCants, James Thrash and Taylor Jacobs are backups now, but all will push for a bigger role in the new Redskins offense. Each of these guys can significantly cut into Coles stats if given the chance.

Can Coles repeat or improve on his 2003 stats: Yes. But you can't ignore the fact that this offense is a lot better than last year, and that Coles is not a lock to be the 'go to' guy anymore.