The game between the Cowboys and Jets serves as a reminder that when Sam Darnold is right, Robby Anderson is a dangerous, top-level receiver. When Darnold is clicking at all, the odds of Anderson hitting on big plays goes way up.
Anderson came into the league as an undrafted free agent, but he’s got good speed and the ability to track to the ball when it’s in the air. Start firing bombs his way, and he’s going to hit on some of those throws. He’ll score from long range.
Mostly it’s about giving Darnold some time to throw. He’s just closing in on his first full season as a starter (he’ll start his 16th game as a pro on Sunday). When he’s getting the chance to attempt meaningful passes downfield, Anderson starts to become a pretty reliable big-play threat.
So far in Darnold’s career, he’s thrown multiple touchdowns in six games. In those six games, Anderson has averaged 94 yards, with 6 TDs. He’s scored in all but one of those games. And his yards-per-catch average is 20.1.
| ANDERSON WHEN DARNOLD THROWS MULTIPLE TOUCHDOWNS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opp | Result | Tgt | No | Yards | Avg | TD |
| at Det. | W 48-17 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 41.0 | 1 |
| Den. | W 34-16 | 5 | 3 | 123 | 41.0 | 2 |
| Ind. | W 42-34 | 5 | 3 | 39 | 13.0 | 0 |
| Hou. | L 22-29 | 11 | 7 | 96 | 13.7 | 1 |
| G.B. | L 38-44 | 13 | 9 | 140 | 15.6 | 1 |
| Dall. | W 24-22 | 8 | 5 | 125 | 25.0 | 1 |
| 6 games | Total | 43 | 28 | 564 | 20.1 | 6 |
This is not how it works in real life, of course. You don’t get to know in advance if Darnold threw multiple touchdowns. You just have to decide whether to start Anderson. But looking at the schedule, you can get an idea of what might or should happen. The Jets are playing New England this week; probably not multiple touchdowns in that one. Five of the following seven are against the Dolphins (twice), Giants, Bengals and Washington. Probably multiple touchdowns in most of those.
I like Anderson.
—Ian Allan