Anderson was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jets in 2016. He was expected to compete for the role as the 5th receiver behind Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker, Quincy Enunwa, and Jalin Marshall. Marshall proved to be quickly overtaken by Anderson for the 4th spot off the bench. Despite beginning the year as the 5th option Anderson caught 42 passes for 587 yards and 2 tds after numerous injuries to guys ahead of him as a rookie Anderson played in all 16 games, and started 8.
Heading into 2017 Anderson was quickly gaining the trust and respect of his franchise. So much so that two players previously ahead of him on the depth chart were jettisoned in the offseason paving the way for an offense led by Anderson, Enunwa, and recent arrival Jamison Crowder. Anderson responded by posting a career year, foreshadowing for what was to come. Anderson caught 63 passes for 941 yards and 7 tds taking command of the number 1 receiver role for the Jets that season, however I still felt with another true top receiver next to him he would thrive even more. The following two seasons helped cement that theory.
After his career year Anderson posted back to back campaigns of around 50 receptions, 750 yards, and 5 tds. These seasons weren't anything to scoff at but not quite what you would expect from a truly elite number 1 receiver. To me this pointed to him needing to find a team with a budding or already established number 1 receiver in the 2020 offseason after becoming a free agent. His move to sign with Carolina was a move I thought made a ton of sense, put him in an offense with an established playmaker around him in Christian McCaffery, as well as young up and coming weapons in Curtis Samuel, and DJ Moore. I thought that Moore would take hold of the number 1 role and begin to dominate opposing defenses. However I was wrong. Instead its Anderson dominating and showing he is that number 1 option I never gave him the credit for being.
Through 5 games in 2020, Robby Anderson, not Moore has 36 receptions for 486 yards and 1 td. He is producing 13.8 yards per reception, while averaging over 7 receptions, and 97 yards per game to this point. To put that into perspective Anderson is currently 4th in receiving yards with names like DeAndra Hopkins, Stefon Diggs, and Dk Metcalf ahead of him. Impressive production for a guy who I thought would likely be looking at another 50-60 reception year with no more than 900 yards. However currently he is on pace for over 100 receptions, 1,500 yards and 3-4 tds. On a side note the Panthers have to be thrilled with their decision to sign Anderson rather than targeting Hopkins or Diggs both of which commanded first day draft picks in return to be acquired. Instead they made the smart decision and signed Anderson an extremely underrated to a 2 year $20 million contract. Meanwhile Hopkins is earning $27.5 million per year for the next 2 seasons, while Stefon Diggs signed a 5 year $72 million contract or $14.4 million a year. Not a bad value for the former undrafted free agent who has a very real shot at ending this season atop the leader board in reception yards.
My apologies Mr. Anderson.
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