Joe Brady and the Carolina Panthers used Robby Anderson in ways that never seemed to occur to the New York Jets last season. That helped Anderson post some new career-high numbers, including 1,096 receiving yards, 49 first downs and a 69.9% catch rate in 2020.
While he impressed in the intermediate game last year, Anderson’s fastball is still the nine route, which he can run about as well as any receiver in the NFL right now. According to Pro Football Focus, Anderson is their second-highest graded wide receiver since 2016 on go routes.
Since entering the league in 2016, Robby Anderson is the 2nd highest graded WR (96.1) on Go Routes #Panthers pic.twitter.com/SbCUb2OyiX
— PFF CAR Panthers (@PFF_Panthers) June 19, 2021
Looking ahead, it’s tough to project Anderson’s production this year.
While Curtis Samuel is out of the picture, D.J. Moore and Christian McCaffrey will almost certainly see more targets. Anderson will also have to compete for touches with new weapons like tight end Dan Arnold and rookie receivers Terrace Marshall Jr. and Shi Smith.
Whatever his volume looks like, Anderson could benefit a lot if Sam Darnold is the upgrade over Teddy Bridgewater the Panthers are hoping for.
