The New York Jets’ wide receiver corps went through an evolution last season. Or make that a revolution, at least in the public’s perception of the group.

Before the season started, fans wondered how much talent the group had. After two games, with Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery each putting up eye-popping plays and performances, a frequently heard phrase was “the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts.”

And when the season concluded and contributions had come in also from Justin McCareins, Tim Dwight and rookie “slash” Brad Smith, Green & White aficionados had to sit back and say, as if after a satisfying meal, “Not bad … not bad at all.”

"What people have to understand about us is that we're some blue-collar guys who work hard and really try to get better every day," Coles said. "Game by game, we're earning it, and I think as long as we continue to compete, we'll be fine."

The competition has already begun. Cotchery, who won a starting job for the first time and posted career receiving highs in his third Jets season, signed a long-term contract extension the first week of March.

"This is the organization that drafted me. I want to be loyal to them," he said. "I want to finish my career here."

“I’m pleased Jerricho will remain a Jet for years to come,” said head coach Eric Mangini.

Coles, who toughed out numerous hard hits to snag a career-high 91 receptions, was back along with the rest of the WRs, body and mind rejuvenated, for last week’s start of the Jets’ off-season strength and conditioning program.

Here are some fine facts about Coles and Cotchery, who led the Green & White wideouts to more than a few red-letter days:

• Coles’ 91 catches (for 1,098 yards) made him only the second 90-catch receiver in Jets history, behind Al Toon’s 93 in 1988. He also chalked up five 100-yard receiving games — the last Jet to have more in a regular season was Don Maynard with seven in 1968.

• Cotchery (82 receptions, 961 yards) missed a grand season by 39 yards. But he had one highlight-video catch after another, all seemingly against New England: his 71-yard knee-never-touched-the-ground touchdown in Game 2; the leaping 22-yard end zone grab for the ultimate winning points in the Game 9 upset at Foxboro, and the 77-yard acceleration TD through the Patriots secondary in the playoffs.

• “L.C.” and “J-Co” became the first wideout tandem in franchise history to both post at least 80 receptions, and the first to combine for more than 2,000 yards (2,059 to be exact) since Wayne Chrebet and Keyshawn Johnson had 2,214 yards in 1998.

Lest you think it was only those two making all the plays, consider this somewhat trick question: Which Jet had the most 40-yard-plus catches over the season’s final 16 games?

McCareins, who took a lesser role than he had in his first two seasons in green, snared a 44-yard TD pass against Detroit, a 50-yarder at Minnesota and a 42-yarder at Miami, all from Game 2 through the playoff game. Coles and Cotchery each had two such receptions in that span.

Dwight and Smith had tamer numbers, Dwight in part because he went on IR with a foot injury after 12 games, Smith because he divided his time at WR, RB and even QB.

One thing the Jets know is that they can’t stand still at any position, and that means wideout — especially because the Patriots restocked by trading with Miami for Wes Welker and bringing in free agents Donte Stallworth from Philadelphia and Kelley Washington from Cincinnati.

But one thing that could be argued was that this year the Jets’ WRs took on the feel of that New England WR unit during the Pats' run of three Super Bowl wins in four years, when the likes of Deion Branch, David Patten, David Givens and Troy Brown teamed up to become better than the sum of their parts.

"The group they had together seemed like a good group. I'm pretty sure they worked hard. And they made plays," Cotchery said. "That's what we're striving for.”

And as Chad Pennington, who completed all those passes to his wideouts with the first full 16-start season of his career, said early in the season of the unit’s working together: “I sure hope we continue to take our chemistry to the next level.”

They strove successfully and took it to the next level. And with the off-season program under way and the draft a month away, the Jets have already begun their post-grad course in chemistry.