Carolina Panthers wide receiver Robby Anderson sits at fantasy football WR8 in PPR scoring formats through three weeks. With a preseason ADP between round 7 and 8, getting a Flex worthy play with a high ceiling fits a particular role on fantasy teams that need points when projected down in a matchup.
Panthers head coach Matt Rhule had the single best up close and personal look at Anderson’s development when Rhule served as his head coach at Temple University. Although Anderson went undrafted in 2016, the New York Jets signed him to a three-year deal as a rookie and followed that up with a one-year extension for 2019. When Anderson hit the market, he had plenty of suitors, including the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that twice tried to trade for him, yet Anderson chose Carolina with a familiar face.
[sv slug=”fantasy”]Robby Anderson’s Consistency Score is concerning
Being a vertical receiver is dealing with games where you don’t see the volume of short and intermediate options. Using Phillip Caldwell’s Consistency Score, since 2016, Anderson has yet to record a season with a score over 5.00. To bring this into context, Julian Edelman, in that same timeframe, has only had one season with a score under 5.00; it was a 4.92 in 2017, which still would have served as Anderson’s highest mark. Poor days like Anderson’s five-receptions, 55-yard performance in Week 3 will keep him away from being a set it and forget it type option.
When to deploy Anderson into your starting lineup
Overall, Anderson has found himself in a steady role on an offense that will be using its wide receivers more while Christian McCaffrey is on the mend. A double-digit floor should keep Anderson from outright sinking the ship if he busts for that week.
His value is in the realistic ceiling, which is over 100 yards and a touchdown. His first score with the Panthers, a 75-yard catch and run on a dart from Teddy Bridgewater, took an unimpressive start to a finish as WR6. Anderson is one of a select few like Marquise Brown, D.K. Metcalf, and Tyreek Hill, that finds themselves one play away from winning your matchup that week.
Robby Anderson’s fantasy football outlook in Week 4
The Arizona Cardinals have had issues covering wide receivers in 2020. Week 1 saw their best success against a San Francisco 49ers team that saw WRs put up a combined 8.1 PPR points. There were only 11 targets to wideouts, seven more went to TEs, and RB/FBs saw 15. Being unable to have Deebo Samuel and 2020 first-round pick Brandon Aiyuk healthy for the matchup played into these numbers.
Come Week 2, Terry McLaurin of the Washington Football Team saw ten targets and converted them into seven catches for 125 yards and a score, finishing as WR4 overall on the week. In Week 3, the Detroit Lions saw Kenny Golladay get his first in-season action corralling six of seven targets for 57 yards and a score, finishing with 17.7 points as WR22. Marvin Jones went for a 3/51/0 slash line and finished outside the top 50 at the position.
If the Panthers can supply Anderson with volume close to his first couple weeks, we should see a far better day than the one he posted against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Cardinals’ 31st ranked passing defense might take even more of a hit if they choose to employ Budda Baker even more as a box safety after seeing 35-year-old Adrian Peterson feature as a critical part of their loss against the Lions. Anderson’s fantasy day will be determined by his penchant for the big play. In Week 4, he finds himself as a very good option in the Flex category.