WATCH: Three factors in Jets WR Robby Anderson's favor for breakout year
With all the talk surrounding the New York Jets' offseason acquisitions, a name that isn't getting enough attention heading into the season is that of wide receiver Robby Anderson. With three seasons already under his belt, the 26-year-old is primed for a big year.
In 2016 New York signed Anderson as an undrafted free agent. The New Jersey native spent his collegiate career at Temple University. After redshirting his first year, Anderson went on to have a tremendous career in Philadelphia.
In two seasons (academically ineligible junior year), Anderson hauled in 144 passes, racking up over 1,700 yards and 16 total touchdowns. He left Temple with the two highest reception and yardage totals in school history and set a school record of 239 receiving yards in a game against SMU.
Anderson’s wiry frame and tendency to drop passes was part of the reason teams didn’t take a chance on him, however the Jets did and have to be very pleased with their decision.
In his first season with the team, Anderson had rather average numbers (42 receptions, 587 yards, two touchdowns), however he saw a big improvement in year two (63 receptions, 941 yards, seven touchdowns). His totals dropped a bit last season (50 receptions, 752 yards, six touchdowns) but that was to be expected with a rookie quarterback in Sam Darnold and a defensive-minded head coach in Todd Bowles.
Over his three seasons, Anderson is averaging 52 catches, 760 yards, and 14.7 yards per catch.
There's three factors that will go into Anderson having a break out year:
1. New and improved route running
The first of which being his desire to be a route runner as opposed to just a deep ball threat. This label has been associated with Anderson since he came into the league due to most of his routes being a fade route.
Per Jets reporter Olivia Landis, Jets wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson had this to say about Anderson: "In this offense, we don't put stigmas on guys like he's just a deep guy. He'll run the whole gauntlet here and he's been doing a good job of it".
During New York’s last preseason game against the Falcons, Anderson displayed his improved route-running ability. He had three receptions for 32 yards. One of which was a beautifully timed comeback route and the other being a slant in traffic right near the goal line.
2. Blazing speed and underrated toughness
At 190 pounds, Anderson isn’t as imposing physically as someone like Quincy Enunwa, however, he does stand at 6-foot-3 and can outrun just about anyone. He ran a 4.34 40-yard dash at the draft combine just to give you an idea of his speed and he even competed in the "40 yards of Gold" tournament this summer.
Don’t let his build fool you. Anderson is as tough as it gets and isn’t afraid of contact.
3. The Le'Veon Bell effect
Finally, there's the factor of Le’Veon Bell. Now you may ask yourself what does Bell have to do with Anderson? And rightfully so. However, a few years ago there was a duo of a speedster wide receiver and a shifty game-changing running back.
That duo was DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy with the Philadelphia Eagles.
This isn’t to say Anderson is the second coming of Jackson but the similarities are there. If Bell can pick up where he left off during his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the defense will be keying in on him which should set up the play-action very nicely.
In 2010, LeSean "Shady" McCoy rushed for 1,080 yards while Jackson had 1,056 receiving yards. With all the promise and intrigue surrounding New York's new-look offense, don't be surprised if Bell and Anderson come close to duplicating that.
Anderson could have a 60-70 catch/1,000-yard season if all goes as planned and if you're a fantasy owner, you'd be wise to pick him up for your roster.
