I like Robby Anderson. He gets downfield, and he makes plays. I’m expecting he’ll outperform where he’s selected in most fantasy drafts.
Anderson looks a little thin. At 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, he looks too frail for the position. But Anderson has proven to be an effective pass catcher, and he’s got the speed to get behind defenses.
Over the last two years, Anderson is one of only six wide receivers who’s caught at least 100 passes and averaged over 15 yards per reception. He’s a deep threat.
| YARDS PER CATCH (last 2 yrs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Yds | Avg | TD |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 133 | 2236 | 16.8 | 10 |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 162 | 2662 | 16.4 | 19 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 157 | 2525 | 16.1 | 13 |
| Brandin Cooks, N.E.-LAR | 145 | 2286 | 15.8 | 12 |
| Julio Jones, Atl. | 201 | 3121 | 15.5 | 11 |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 113 | 1693 | 15.0 | 13 |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 102 | 1520 | 14.9 | 12 |
| A.J. Green, Cin. | 121 | 1772 | 14.6 | 14 |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 142 | 2000 | 14.1 | 11 |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 102 | 1435 | 14.1 | 11 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 211 | 2950 | 14.0 | 24 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 169 | 2343 | 13.9 | 14 |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 205 | 2830 | 13.8 | 24 |
| Amari Cooper, Oak.-Dal. | 123 | 1685 | 13.7 | 14 |
| Alshon Jeffery, Phil. | 122 | 1632 | 13.4 | 15 |
| Odell Beckham, NYG | 102 | 1354 | 13.3 | 9 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 199 | 2589 | 13.0 | 12 |
| Adam Thielen, Min. | 204 | 2649 | 13.0 | 13 |
| Devin Funchess, Car. | 107 | 1389 | 13.0 | 12 |
| Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 125 | 1609 | 12.9 | 13 |
| Sterling Shepard, NYG | 125 | 1603 | 12.8 | 6 |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 185 | 2271 | 12.3 | 23 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 118 | 1423 | 12.1 | 6 |
| Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 126 | 1504 | 11.9 | 12 |
| Mohamed Sanu, Atl. | 133 | 1541 | 11.6 | 9 |
| Jermaine Kearse, NYJ | 102 | 1181 | 11.6 | 6 |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 229 | 2650 | 11.6 | 14 |
| Demaryius Thomas, Den.-Hou. | 142 | 1626 | 11.5 | 10 |
| Stefon Diggs, Min. | 166 | 1870 | 11.3 | 17 |
| Michael Crabtree, Oak.-Blt. | 112 | 1225 | 10.9 | 11 |
| Golden Tate, Det.-Phi. | 166 | 1798 | 10.8 | 9 |
| Taylor Gabriel, Atl.-Chi. | 100 | 1066 | 10.7 | 3 |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 178 | 1890 | 10.6 | 12 |
| Adam Humphries, T.B. | 137 | 1447 | 10.6 | 6 |
| Jordy Nelson, G.B.-Oak. | 116 | 1221 | 10.5 | 9 |
| Danny Amendola, N.E.-Mia. | 120 | 1234 | 10.3 | 3 |
| Jarvis Landry, Mia.-Cle. | 193 | 1963 | 10.2 | 13 |
| Randall Cobb, G.B. | 104 | 1036 | 10.0 | 6 |
| Cole Beasley, Dall. | 101 | 986 | 9.8 | 7 |
Anderson also has good hands – just 4 drops in the last two years (so by drop rate, he’s in the top third among wide receivers).
The Jets have some other contributing wide receivers. They’ve got Quincy Enunwa, who’s been modestly effective at times, and they signed Jamison Crowder to play in the slot. But I think Anderson is their guy. They’ve got him signed for only $3 million this year, and I think that’s a steal (Anderson will be an unrestricted free agent next spring).
If they get the team going a little bit (they’ve been pretty awful the last few years) I could see Anderson moving up to become a top-15 type receiver.
Sam Darnold had only four games with multiple touchdowns last year. Anderson in those four games (a quarter of the season) caught 20 passes for 400 yards and 5 TDs, averaging 20 yards per catch.
In this century, only 26 1,000-yard seasons have been authored by undrafted players. I have a feeling Anderson is going to be added to that list this year.
| UNDRAFTED 1,000-YARD RECEIVERS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 2000 | Rod Smith, Den. | 100 | 1,602 | 16.0 | 8 |
| 2001 | Rod Smith, Den. | 113 | 1,343 | 11.9 | 11 |
| 2002 | Rod Smith, Den. | 89 | 1,027 | 11.5 | 5 |
| 2004 | Drew Bennett, Ten. | 80 | 1,247 | 15.6 | 11 |
| 2004 | Rod Smith, Den. | 79 | 1,144 | 14.5 | 7 |
| 2005 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 89 | 1,101 | 12.4 | 10 |
| 2005 | Rod Smith, Den. | 85 | 1,105 | 13.0 | 6 |
| 2006 | Mike Furrey, Det. | 98 | 1,086 | 11.1 | 6 |
| 2007 | Wes Welker, N.E. | 112 | 1,175 | 10.5 | 8 |
| 2008 | Wes Welker, N.E. | 111 | 1,165 | 10.5 | 3 |
| 2009 | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 79 | 1,157 | 14.7 | 8 |
| 2009 | Miles Austin, Dall. | 81 | 1,320 | 16.3 | 11 |
| 2009 | Wes Welker, N.E. | 123 | 1,348 | 11.0 | 4 |
| 2010 | Miles Austin, Dall. | 69 | 1,041 | 15.1 | 7 |
| 2011 | Nate Washington, Ten. | 74 | 1,023 | 13.8 | 7 |
| 2011 | Victor Cruz, NYG | 82 | 1,536 | 18.7 | 9 |
| 2011 | Wes Welker, N.E. | 122 | 1,569 | 12.9 | 9 |
| 2012 | Lance Moore, N.O. | 65 | 1,041 | 16.0 | 6 |
| 2012 | Victor Cruz, NYG | 86 | 1,092 | 12.7 | 10 |
| 2012 | Wes Welker, N.E. | 118 | 1,354 | 11.5 | 6 |
| 2015 | Allen Hurns, Jac. | 64 | 1,031 | 16.1 | 10 |
| 2015 | Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 78 | 1,069 | 13.7 | 14 |
| 2016 | Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 94 | 1,128 | 12.0 | 7 |
| 2016 | Tyrell Williams, S.D. | 69 | 1,059 | 15.4 | 7 |
| 2017 | Adam Thielen, Min. | 91 | 1,276 | 14.0 | 4 |
| 2018 | Adam Thielen, Min. | 113 | 1,373 | 12.2 | 9 |
—Ian Allan