Should the Jaguars Make a Push to Add Free Agent Robby Anderson to the Offense?

For the Jacksonville Jaguars to have success in 2020 and improve upon their 6-10 record from last season, they will need to make one thing a priority over all else: the development of Gardner Minshew II.

Following the trade of veteran quarterback Nick Foles to the Chicago Bears, the Jaguars made it abundantly clear that they will be resting their hopes next season on the right arm of Minshew, a 2019 sixth-round selection who didn't take a snap with the starting offense all of last training camp.

Minshew flashed enough skill in his 14 appearances (12 starts) to provide hope that he can be the team's long-term starter. At the very least, he did enough to justify the Jaguars rolling the dice on him in 2020 after he went 6-6 as a starter in 2019 and threw 21 touchdowns compared to six interceptions.

But for Minshew to take the next step in his development, the Jaguars are going to have to surround the 23-year-old signal-caller with more talent than he had around him in his rookie campaign. This includes giving him more weapons to choose from in the passing game, especially at wide receiver.

With the wide receiver free agency market slow to develop so far, a few key players remain unsigned. Among them is Robby Anderson, who many considered to be one of the best offensive free agents in this year's group of players.

So far, Anderson has yet to find a home for the 2020 season. While the possibility remains that he could return to the New York Jets after spending the first four seasons of his career there, he is also eligible to land elsewhere.

So, would the Jaguars make sense as a destination for Anderson? We weigh the pros and cons of the question to find an answer.

Why the Jaguars should make a push for Robby Anderson

A durable player throughout his career (only two missed games in four seasons), Anderson was the favorite target for Jets' quarterbacks throughout the first four years of his NFL tenure. In 62 career games, Anderson caught 207 receptions for 3,059 yards and 20 touchdowns, giving him a 14.8 yards per catch average.

#Jets don’t have a ton of internal free agents to pay because they simply haven’t drafted well enough

There is no reason to not keep Sam Darnold’s best weapon in Robby Anderson
pic.twitter.com/ttlF7MdIFA
— Connor Rogers (@ConnorJRogers) December 22, 2019

Throughout his career, Anderson has made a name for himself as a dangerous big-play threat. Whether it is attacking defenses down the seam or vertically down the boundary, Anderson's deep speed and ability to track the ball in the air makes him a lethal weapon for any offense.

Anderson has spent the last two years of his career being the top pass-catching option for Sam Darnold, giving him experience working, and succeeding, with a young passer. Darnold's play style is similar to Minshew's in the manner that each is mobile in the pocket and is at their best when extending plays with their legs, so Anderson has plenty of experience with the style of quarterback Minshew is.

Over the last three seasons, Anderson has a per 16-game average statline of 57 catches for 824 yards and six touchdowns, all while playing in some of the league's lowest-ranked offenses. When comparing that to the production the Jaguars got from their wide receiver group last season, only DJ Chark was more effective.

Finding a compliment on the outside for Chark should be among the Jaguars' top goals as they seek to retool the offense around Minshew. Chark was terrific for Jacksonville in 2019, catching 73 passes for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns.

But defenses soon caught on that Chark was the Jaguars' lone consistent passing game threat, with the loss to the New Orleans Saints a terrific example. The Saints used bracket coverage to double-team Chark, and the rest of the Jaguars' wide receivers were unable to take advantage.

If Anderson was lined up across from Chark, defenses simply wouldn't be able to deploy this strategy because Anderson is a good enough deep threat to make them pay for leaving him alone on the outside. While Anderson may not ever be a 1,000-yard wide receiver, his presence alone helps any offense he is on due to the attention he requires.

Why the Jaguars should avoid signing Robby Anderson

The biggest reason to argue against the Jaguars pursuing Anderson would be the investment it would likely take to acquire the 26-year-old wide receiver.

Anderson will almost positively command a larger contract than any other wide receiver currently on the market despite never having a season with 1,000 yards receiving. Compare this to some of the alternatives, and there could be a strong argument against a team choosing to invest in Anderson.

Other options who will be cheaper than Anderson are players like Breshad Perriman, Paul Richardson, Travis Benjamin, and Taylor Gabriel. Perriman and Benjamin are vertical threats like Anderson, while Richardson and Gabriel have experience on the outside and in the slot.

In addition to these options, this year's wide receiver class is one of the deepest in recent memory. If a team would opt to add a cost-controlled rookie in one of the draft's first three rounds instead of paying Anderson, it wouldn't be hard to figure out why.

For a Jaguars team that is already strapped on cash ($20,251,948 in available cap space per Spotrac), it would make sense for them to seek a cheaper option at wide receiver. They already have Chark in the picture, and the team is high on the trio of Chris Conley, Dede Westbrook, and Keelan Cole.

Would the Jaguars be willing to hand a sizeable contract over to a player who might be only the team's No. 2 wide receiver? It would be understandable if they weren't, even with Anderson's immense talent.

Overall

If the Jaguars want to make one more big splash in free agency and give Minshew a strong starting wide receiver duo, then pursuing Anderson would make a lot of sense. It is unclear why his market has been quiet to this point, but his traits and track record suggest he will be a success wherever he plays next season.

But the big question that looms over the Jaguars when it comes to adding another wide receiver is what kind of value they should invest in the player. With a deep group of wide receivers in this year's draft, the Jaguars could easily find a pass-catching option across from Chark who comes at a much cheaper rate than Anderson will.

Adding Anderson would be a swing for the fences by general manager Dave Caldwell. While Anderson's fit as a player makes a lot of sense, it is hard to foresee Caldwell and the Jaguars choosing to invest a contract in him when there are so many other options available.

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