Jason Wood's Thoughts

Rod Gardner is a complete wild card this year, in my view. Of the hundreds of players I'm asked to analyze each year, Gardner is one of the few this season that I can honestly say has such a wide range of potential performance that it's really hard to draw steadfast conclusions.

• I wouldn't be shocked if he had a monster year and went for over 1,000 yards and factored into the top 25 at his position



• I wouldn't be shocked if he ended up 3rd or 4th on the Redskins WR pecking order and was a virtual non factor in all but the deepest leagues

So much change is afoot in Washington this season, most notably Joe Gibbs returning to the sidelines. Gibbs' abilities as a coach need no introduction and I firmly believe that sooner rather than later he'll have the team playing playoff caliber football. In addition to Gibbs returning, the team brought in Clinton Portis, Mark Brunell and must deal with the loss of OT Jon Jansen.

One thing I'm quite certain of is Rod Gardner is not a featured weapon on this team. Laveranues Coles, with back-to-back 1200 yard seasons playing for two different teams, is the Redskins best receiver and their go-to weapon. Clinton Portis, who was the highest paid RB until LaDainian Tomlinson signed his new contract, is arguably the most talented RB in Gibbs' history and will be run a ton. So, at best, Gardner is going to be offensive option #3. Were we sure that's where he fits into the pecking order it would be reasonably easy to project his metrics. HOWEVER, there's the little matter of a deep receiving corps behind him which includes:

• Taylor Jacobs - 1st round pick a season ago from Florida



• James Thrash - Once and future Redskin who was a starter in Philadelphia the last few seasons



• Darnerian McCants - 3rd year receiver and one of the stars of training camp

I don't see why any of these receivers couldn't share the limelight with Gardner. Gibbs bears no loyalties to Gardner simply because he started for the last few years in D.C. Gibbs will play the best players; the guys he thinks will help them win games now.

Is Gardner one of guys? It's tough to say because he's been uneven in three seasons:

• 2001 - As a rookie, Gardner catches 46 for 741 (16.1) and 4 scores; not starting until part way through the season, his 39th place finish as a rookie bodes well for future years



• 2002 - Gardner "breaks out" with 71 receptions for 1,006 yards (14.2) and 8 touchdowns in Steve Spurrier's first season. Despite leading the team in receiving, Gardner clashes with Spurrier at times and is demoted for a game or two. Fantasy owners are happy though as Gardner finished 17th; a solid fantasy WR2



• 2003 - 2nd year under Spurrier, and first as second fiddle to Coles ends up a disaster. While the team as a whole struggles, Coles manages to have a great year while Gardner falls off a cliff. His yards per reception plummeted to an unacceptable 10.2 and Gardner finishes with only 59 receptions and a career low 600 yards

Being an Eagles season ticket holder, I see the Redskins play a few times a year and frankly, Gardner has never impressed me. To be fair, he hasn't had the best supporting cast/coaching during his time with Washington so it would be silly to rule him out completely. But with other viable receiving options behind Coles, I don't see why Gardner is a lock to rebound this year; he could as easily fall further.

Positives

• Gardner has excellent size (6'2", 213 pounds)



• He has been shown a propensity for catching touchdowns (1 TD per 10.4 receptions)



• Joe Gibbs should have the Redskins offense immensely improved by no later than mid-season

Negatives

• Gardner's play and focus fell of a cliff last year once he was relegated to the 2nd receiver role; and that's not about to change with Coles signed to a long-term deal



• The Redskins WR corps is deep and there's no guarantee that Gardner is a lock to hold onto the 2nd spot; or how many targets the WR2 will see



• Gardner isn't a polished route runner

Final Thoughts

Rod Gardner has been productive under the right circumstances, but let's not forget his 1,000 yard season two years ago came as the primary option in the passing game. With Laveranues Coles on board, at best Gardner is the 2nd option and overall, he's a distant 3rd to Coles and Clinton Portis; the focal point of the Skins attack. I personally think Gardner makes for an intriguing WR4/WR5 as someone you aren't planning on relying upon, but who is young and talented enough to be viewed as a legitimate sleeper. Draft accordingly.

Colin Dowling's Thoughts

Rod Gardner is a good football player. Honest. He has size, hands, route-running ability. He makes the tough catch and uses his body to shield the ball from defenders. He was drafted 15th overall in 2000. I swear, Rod Gardner is a GOOD FOOTBALL PLAYER. Why am I telling you this? Because for as good as Rod Gardner is, you'd think he was shipped to Mars on a NASA rocket because he's nowhere to be seen. Not on message boards. Not in magazines. Heck, he's rarely makes an appearance on the team's website. All of this is good for you the fantasy player, of course. Why?

Because Rod Gardner, a GOOD FOOTBALL PLAYER, is being drafted in the 11th or 12th round in the range of Wide-Receiver #44. Never mind that he has never finished worse than WR39, and that was as a rookie. He was WR17 in 2002 and WR34 last year, despite catching passes from Tim Hasselbeck for half the season.

Did he get hurt? No. Did he lose his starting job? Apparently not, he's still running with the first team. Is he in the Coach's doghouse? Not that I can find.

In other words, he's a young WR with solid abilities playing for a coach that has a history of making multiple WRs productive. And he's getting drafted after a few kickers and backup running backs.

Positives

• Good size - Gardner's 6'2, 217. Despite this year's big crop of receivers, that's still good size



• Redzone productivity - Gardner has caught the majority of his TDs from inside the 25



• Less attention - With Laveranues Coles lining up on the other side, Gardner is rarely double-covered

Negatives

• New offense - Its still too early to know his full-role in Gibbs's offense



• Competition - Taylor Jacobs, Darnerian McCants, and James Thrash are competing for playing time



• Not as fast as other WRs - Gardner is a 4.6 guy and more of a "strider" than sprinter

Final Thoughts

I think that Rod Gardner has a fantastic chance to outshine his draft position be a significant margin. I think he'll come in to the top-40 barring injury and with a couple breaks his way (like 7 or 8 TDs), top-30 is well within reach. Drafting him in the 11th round just screams value to me. Why? Well, say it with me…. "Because Rod Gardner is a good football player."

Quotations from the Message Board Thread

To view the entire Player Spotlight thread (there's a ton of fantastic commentary in there), click here.

riggz75:
"As far as Gardner's pure ability, he has definitely reached that point in a WR career where you suspect he will either "break out" (man, I hate that overused cliché) or just disappear. The tools are there, no question. But does he have the right mindset and persistence?"

Cover2:
"Coles' foot injury sounds like it may be a season-long issue, so I like Gardner's chances of putting up decent numbers. He looks to be of good value around the late 11th early 12th in leagues that start 3 WRs."

footballman_696969:
"Rod Gardner is a guy that I think will outperform his ADP (12.03 according to Xpertleagues). He is on a very talented offense with Mark Brunell running the show. He's playing opposite Coles who should face a lot of double teams. The Redskins also have one of the most talented backs in the league to keep defenses honest. I expect Gardner to put up some good WR 3/4 numbers this year and will have him on a lot of my teams."

Rod Gardner Projections