Robbie Anderson sent out a tweet yesterday that he was thinking about retiring. He deleted it, so he's presumably changed his mind, as with the spelling of his name (from Robby to Robbie). Two years of working with Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Darnold under Matt Rhule can apparently have one contemplating a career change.
I don't know what prompted Anderson's tweet; could be anything really. What I do know is that his on-field career in Carolina has gone a lot different than what it had been like with the Jets. It's weird that the Panthers brought in one of the league's better big-play threats and turned him into a possession receiver.
As a starter for three seasons with the Jets, Anderson was a downfield weapon. Among all wide receivers who averaged at least 50 receptions in those seasons, Anderson's 15.0 yards per reception was a top-10 figure. In two of those years he was working with Darnold, too, so it's not as if he doesn't currently have a quarterback who could get that kind of production out of him.
| WIDE RECEIVER YARDS PER RECEPTION, 2017-2019 (TOP 20) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD |
| Kenny Golladay | 42 | 163 | 2730 | 16.7 | 19 |
| Mike Evans | 44 | 224 | 3682 | 16.4 | 21 |
| Tyreek Hill | 43 | 220 | 3522 | 16.0 | 26 |
| T.Y. Hilton | 40 | 178 | 2737 | 15.4 | 15 |
| Brandin Cooks | 46 | 187 | 2869 | 15.3 | 14 |
| Marvin Jones | 38 | 158 | 2388 | 15.1 | 23 |
| Chris Godwin | 46 | 179 | 2700 | 15.1 | 17 |
| Julio Jones | 47 | 300 | 4515 | 15.1 | 17 |
| Robby Anderson | 46 | 165 | 2472 | 15.0 | 18 |
| DeVante Parker | 40 | 153 | 2181 | 14.3 | 11 |
| Amari Cooper | 45 | 202 | 2874 | 14.2 | 22 |
| Tyler Lockett | 48 | 184 | 2577 | 14.0 | 20 |
| Antonio Brown | 30 | 209 | 2886 | 13.8 | 25 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | 42 | 211 | 2895 | 13.7 | 17 |
| Odell Beckham Jr. | 32 | 176 | 2389 | 13.6 | 13 |
| Robert Woods | 43 | 232 | 3134 | 13.5 | 13 |
| Cooper Kupp | 39 | 196 | 2596 | 13.2 | 21 |
| Adam Thielen | 42 | 234 | 3067 | 13.1 | 19 |
| Stefon Diggs | 44 | 229 | 3000 | 13.1 | 23 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 46 | 315 | 4115 | 13.1 | 31 |
The last two years in Carolina, with a couple of different coordinators and Bridgewater and Darnold at quarterback, things have changed. Anderson in those two years has been running much shorter routes, and averaged just 10.9 yards per reception. That's at the other end of the spectrum -- bottom-10 production for the position in those two seasons.
| WIDE RECEIVER YARDS PER RECEPTION, 2020-2021 (BOTTOM 20) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD |
| Marquise Brown | 32 | 149 | 1777 | 11.9 | 14 |
| Chris Godwin | 26 | 163 | 1943 | 11.9 | 12 |
| Darnell Mooney | 33 | 142 | 1686 | 11.9 | 8 |
| Allen Robinson | 28 | 140 | 1660 | 11.9 | 7 |
| Adam Thielen | 28 | 141 | 1651 | 11.7 | 24 |
| Tyler Boyd | 31 | 146 | 1669 | 11.4 | 9 |
| Jarvis Landry | 27 | 124 | 1410 | 11.4 | 5 |
| Russell Gage | 30 | 138 | 1556 | 11.3 | 8 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 31 | 142 | 1595 | 11.2 | 2 |
| Robert Woods | 25 | 135 | 1492 | 11.1 | 10 |
| Robby Anderson | 33 | 148 | 1615 | 10.9 | 8 |
| Diontae Johnson | 31 | 195 | 2084 | 10.7 | 15 |
| Hunter Renfrow | 33 | 159 | 1694 | 10.7 | 11 |
| Jamison Crowder | 24 | 110 | 1146 | 10.4 | 8 |
| Keenan Allen | 30 | 206 | 2130 | 10.3 | 14 |
| Cole Beasley | 31 | 164 | 1660 | 10.1 | 5 |
| Laviska Shenault Jr. | 30 | 121 | 1219 | 10.1 | 5 |
| Sterling Shepard | 19 | 102 | 1022 | 10.0 | 4 |
| Jaylen Waddle | 16 | 104 | 1015 | 9.8 | 6 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | 21 | 112 | 960 | 8.6 | 9 |
It's a new season, but there's little reason to think the Panthers will be able to unlock the potential that made Anderson a dangerous player with the Jets. For some inexplicable reason they've decided to hire a recognizable coaching name rather than someone with any track record of success or potential to have some new or innovative ideas. The new offensive coordinator is Ben McAdoo, who was a terrible head coach with the Giants prior to being a terrible quarterbacks coach with the Jaguars and then a consultant (whatever that means) with the Cowboys. Get a coaching job in the NFL one time, it seems, and there will always be a franchise willing to hire you again.
So Anderson isn't retiring, today, but it's apparently in the back of his mind. Let's see if he gets through training camp and the preseason. In any case, probably best to steer clear of this offense as much as possible in 2022, until they blow things up and start over in 2023.
--Andy Richardson