Coates had 7 tackles on ST, I'll give him credit for that, but he is probably twice as fast as Red, Williams & Nix. I'm not sure how Coates playing ST has any connection with his play at WR?
ST Stats:
Dirty Red was 9th in the NFL with 13 tackles
Vince Williams 26th in the NFL W/11 tackles
Nix 48th in the NFL W/9
Coates & Dangerfield 81st W/7 tackles
As for Coates here are his minuses as a WR, after school and before the draft. Which of these
can't be fixed? I say #11 on the stiff hips. I think #8 could be improved somewhat, but ball tracking comes by feel imo.
Coates came to training camp in year one out of shape and sat on the bench. He had one catch in the regular season. Thats a big flag for me. Year two better shape but no improvement in the 12 points. In fact he demonstrated them all or most of them in every game. I'll give him some rope for the finger injury, but he didn't have a finger injury in school.
Lack of improvement? Effort? Body Language? Yes, I'd say so. I honestly feel he thinks he can get by with his natural ability. But as I said before, I hope I'm wrong.
1.
Unreliable target
2.
Inexplicable focus drops in all areas of the field.
3.
Doesn't play with extended catch radius
4. Had a drop rate of 19.1 percent
5 Vertical receiver without vertical feel
6. Inconsistent play speed.
7. Will gear down too easily on deep routes, turning catchable touchdowns into overthrows.
8. Suspect ball tracking.
9. Must improve at using body to ward off defenders.
10. Inconsistent with contested catches.
11. Stiff hips and limited route runner.
12. Slow to gather and turn it upfield on catch-and-runs.