After a rookie year that was full of its ups and downs, Sam Darnold is primed for a breakout season in year No.2. With that naturally comes increased production from his wide receivers, and Robby Anderson should be the one to benefit the most.
As of right now, the Jets receiving corps essentially has three No. 2 receivers, with none of them really asserting themselves as a true WR1. Enunwa, while effective, has maxed out at 857 yards and four touchdowns in a single season, and only 499 and 1 last year in 11 games. Crowder is new to the team, and while the talent has always been there, he has had a hard time maximizing it throughout his career.
As for Anderson, he was Darnold’s top target last season, bringing in a 50 of the 94 passes thrown his way for 754 yards and 6 touchdowns, all of which were team highs. He’s got great deep threat potential, but as he made clear this offseason, that’s not all he can do, according to the Jets team website back in April after the reveal of their new uniforms.
“I’ve been labeled a ‘deep threat’, but everybody who knows what I can do knows that’s not the case,” Anderson said. “But he’s [Gase] really going to make me a great player, he’s going to bring greatness out of me, and he’s going to let me do things I haven’t really been able to do and take me to that next level. And I’m confident in that.”
His head coach Adam Gase echoed that sentiment, saying that they were looking at how to get him the ball more and in ways that he hasn’t been utilized in the past.
Aside from that, there are also stark differences between him and the other two top receivers, ones that will certainly benefit him at least from a fantasy perspective.
Crowder and Enunwa are both most effective as slot receivers, while Anderson has proven that he can produce while lining up on the outside. He should easily be Darnold’s top target on balls thrown to the outside and most likely overall.
After the success they had together at the end of last season, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t.
According to Pro Football Focus, Darnold was their highest-graded quarterback from weeks 14-17, and Anderson was the fifth-highest graded wide receiver over the same span. They were the only QB-WR duo to both appear in their respective top-5s, as they connected on 23 of their 39 attempts for 336 yards and three touchdowns.
The bottom line is that the Jets passing offense was well in the bottom third of the league last year. They brought in a new offensive-minded head coach, have a young quarterback who has already shown flashes of stardom, and the team is primed for a breakout. Someone needs to catch the ball, and out of the collection of receivers, Anderson stands out. He was already WR35 last year in half-ppr scoring format, and with all the aforementioned potential surrounding the Jets this season the possibility that he moves up into the top-20 is very real. With an ADP currently sitting at 73 (WR30) according to FantasyPros, he is someone who should be on everyone’s draft boards.
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