Fantasy Football Impact of Robby Anderson Joining Panthers
The Carolina Panthers added another piece to their offense yesterday with their signing of former New York Jet wide receiver Robby Anderson. Since 2017 Anderson has been one of the top playmakers on the Jets, scoring 18 touchdowns and catching 165 passes. The Jets will need to upgrade at the wide receiver position on draft day. New York's top target in the passing game as of right now will be Jamison Crowder. Crowder is a quarterback friendly receiver who caught 78 balls for the Jets last season. He will remain a reliable fantasy option in 2020.
The Panthers, who are revamping their offense, get a player in Robby Anderson who is super talented but I'm not sure if he is the right fit for new Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Anderson makes his money running down the field and hitting big pays. Last season with the Jets Anderson had 13 receptions over 20 yards and 2 receptions of over 40 yards. Bridgewater is not the type of quarterback that throws the football 20 yards down the field, Bridgwater averages a mere 7 yards per attempt for his career. Anderson will have to get yards after the catch to make a play down the field.
Anderson also comes into a situation where there is already a number one wide receiver present. D.J. Moore was the top wideout in Carolina last season and there is no reason why that shouldn't be the case again this year. Anderson caught 87 balls for over 1,100 yards last season. Matt Rhule and Joe Brady will bring in a new offense but expect Moore to be the top wideout.
Teddy Bridgwater is a dink-and-dunk, move-the-sticks, and manage-the-game type of quarterback. The Panthers have the ultimate short-pass weapon in their backfield in Christian McCaffrey. CMC has back-to-back seasons of over 100 receptions. He is the top target in the Panthers' passing game and the perfect complement to Bridgewater's game.
Anderson may be a solid addition for the Panthers, but I'm not sure he will be a consistently valuable fantasy asset. He will have to compete with Curtis Samuels and Ian Thomas for the scraps Moore and McCaffrey leave behind. Anderson will have big games from time to time, but it will be difficult to predict when those games will come. His style of play makes him a good player for bestball and draft masters formats.
MORE FROM SI:
2020 Fantasy Football: NFL Free Agent Winners
Pete Alonso Sends Heartfelt Message to Nurses and Doctors Battling Coronavirus
2020 NFL Draft: Top 5 RB Prospect Rankings
NFL Draft 2020: Which Player Gets Drafted First Overall?
