Jets wideout Robby Anderson has been in the news for the wrong reasons. He was arrested in January, and although some of the charges were thrown out, a reckless driving offense remained. The court date for that was on Tuesday, and Anderson apparently missed it. More trouble for New York's best wide receiver.
Anderson's lawyer says they were given no notice of the court date. Who knows; maybe this one will turn out to a misunderstanding. But Anderson is already scheduled to appear in court for an altercation last summer at a Miami music festival. Something in all of this is going to stick, and it would be a surprise if the league doesn't hit him with a suspension to start the season.
This might explain why the Jets have such a huge number of wide receivers on their roster. To name just some: Terrelle Pryor, Jermaine Kearse, Quincy Enunwa, Andre Roberts, Tre McBride, last year's third- and fourth-rounders ArDarius Stewart and Chad Hansen -- there's a few more. They're going to need a couple of those guys to start at the beginning of the season, and may need one of them to fill Anderson's void.
When he's on the field, Anderson makes big plays; probably more than you realize. Last year his 7 TDs came from an average of over 37 yards. The only wideout in the league who scored more than 5 TDs and had a larger average on those scoring plays was Tyreek Hill.
| AVERAGE TD DISTANCE, 2017 (5-PLUS) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | TDC | Avg |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 7 | 58.3 |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 7 | 37.3 |
| Amari Cooper, Oak. | 7 | 37.0 |
| Golden Tate, Det. | 5 | 34.4 |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 5 | 32.6 |
| Will Fuller, Hou. | 7 | 28.7 |
| Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 8 | 28.1 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 7 | 26.9 |
| A.J. Green, Cin. | 8 | 26.6 |
| Kenny Stills, Mia. | 6 | 25.7 |
| Paul Richardson, Sea. | 6 | 23.8 |
| Josh Doctson, Wash. | 6 | 23.3 |
| Brandin Cooks, N.E. | 7 | 22.7 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 5 | 22.0 |
| Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 8 | 20.5 |
| Jermaine Kearse, NYJ | 5 | 20.2 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 13 | 19.5 |
| Marvin Jones, Det. | 9 | 19.0 |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 10 | 18.7 |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 9 | 17.9 |
| Devin Funchess, Car. | 8 | 17.8 |
| Stefon Diggs, Minn. | 8 | 17.3 |
| Alshon Jeffery, Phil. | 9 | 15.9 |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 6 | 15.5 |
| Dez Bryant, Dall. | 6 | 15.5 |
| Chris Hogan, N.E. | 5 | 14.8 |
| Sammy Watkins, LAR | 8 | 14.8 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 6 | 13.8 |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 5 | 12.6 |
| Michael Crabtree, Oak. | 8 | 12.4 |
| Demaryius Thomas, Den. | 5 | 10.2 |
| Jordy Nelson, G.B. | 6 | 9.7 |
| Mohamed Sanu, Atl. | 5 | 5.6 |
| Jarvis Landry, Mia. | 9 | 4.9 |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 5 | 4.6 |
As noted, New York has other wideouts. But for Josh McCown (or Sam Darnold) to have their best chance for success, they could really use Anderson's big-play ability in the lineup.
--Andy Richardson