Another week, and another positive report out of Jets practices on Robby Anderson. Wide receivers coach Karl Dorrell, in a story at the team website, thinks Anderson will be even better in 2018.
"There are some different roles on our team, doing secondary jobs to help other people out and I think that is something he will learn and grow with,” Dorrell said. “He’ll be better at that now that he knows the scope of it. I think Robby is really going to explode and become a more complete player."
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 |
Anderson has some legal issues to worry about. He's on probation for a reckless driving charge. But some other charges (including a felony for resisting arrest) have been dropped. A suspension from the league is very possible/likely, but probably not more than a couple of games. As long as you have another option to cover the time he could miss, that discount on draft day might be worthwhile.
(Starting to look like you could build a decent fantasy roster of players out the first couple of games. Jameis Winston at quarterback, Aaron Jones at running back, Anderson at wideout....)
--Andy Richardson