Robby Anderson: 2020 Dynasty Profile

Past Production

Here are Robby Anderson’s full NFL stats.

The Jets found Anderson as an undrafted free agent out of Temple in 2016. As a rookie, Anderson filled the Jets’ WR3 role behind veterans Brandon Marshall and Quincy Enunwa after an injury to Eric Decker. Anderson served as the Jets’ primary deep threat, displaying elite speed.

Going into 2017, the Jets dismantled their receiving corps. Marshall and Decker moved on in free agency while Enunwa missed the entire season with a neck injury. Anderson led the Jets in targets, yards, and touchdowns, ahead of WR2 Jermaine Kearse. At this point, Anderson seemed to become the Jets’ clear WR1, and he had a bright dynasty future.

In 2018, Anderson led the Jets in all receiving categories, ahead of both Kearse and Enunwa. However, the Jets’ entire offense struggled under rookie quarterback Sam Darnold and veteran Josh McCown, leading to a decline in Anderson’s stats. Even though Anderson’s numbers went down, I continued to believe in his talent.

Unfortunately, the Jets decided to fire head coach Todd Bowles after 2018, and they replaced him with Adam Gase. Gase completely obliterated the Jets’ offense, turning it into a dumpster fire. He preferred to focus on slot receiver Jamison Crowder, relegating Anderson to a pure deep threat role. Anderson’s yards/target and catch rate remained the same in 2019, but Gase refused to feed him targets. 

2020 Performance and Outlook

Luckily, Anderson freed himself from Gase after 2019, signing with the Panthers in free agency to a 2-year, $20 million contract. Anderson reunited with his college head coach Matt Rhule, who had just become the Panthers’ head coach. However, after the signing, I wasn’t sure where Anderson would slot into the Panthers’ offense. The Panthers had star running back Christian McCaffrey and young receiver D.J. Moore as the centerpieces of their offense. Anderson, hybrid receiver Curtis Samuel, and tight end Ian Thomas would need to compete for targets behind them. 

After three weeks, it’s clear that Anderson is the Panthers’ third read in the offense. Even after McCaffrey went down to a high-ankle sprain, the Panthers heavily targeted backup Mike Davis. Outside of the running backs and Moore, Anderson leads the other weapons with 23 targets, compared to 14 for Samuel and four for Thomas. While I don’t expect Anderson to maintain his 87% catch rate or 12.1 yards/target numbers, he’s been far better than I expected. Anderson represents a reliable WR3 option for the rest of 2020, with WR2 upside.

Dynasty Analysis

Anderson turned 27 years old in May, so he’s just now entering his prime as a wide receiver. I think that Anderson suffers from a stigma that he’s only a deep threat, whereas the Panthers might be able to involve him in their offense in different ways. Like many players, Anderson seems to have benefitted from leaving Adam Gase and moving onto a competent head coach.

I’m comfortable sending any future second-round rookie pick to acquire Anderson on a contending roster. He will be fantasy-viable for the remainder of 2020, and he’s the type of player you need as depth in a crazy season. The Panthers’ defense is horrible, which should force Teddy Bridgewater to air the ball out throughout 2020. If the Panthers continue to lose, they might replace Bridgewater with a top quarterback from the 2021 class, further increasing Anderson’s value.

Thanks for reading this article. You can find me on Twitter at @DFF_Karp. I love to interact with anyone in the community, so reach out at any time! I take fantasy questions and help with all formats, so keep sending those questions my way.