New York Jets' receiving corps is disrepair after Robby Anderson's departure in free agency
The New York Jets just let one of their most dangerous weapons walk away.
Wide receiver Robby Anderson, the Jets' only deep threat and one of their few experienced wideouts, has agreed to join the Carolina Panthers. It's a two-year, $20 million deal according to ESPN, which first reported the agreement.
The Jets are now in a precarious situation as they move forward in general manager Joe Douglas' first full offseason at the helm. Not only did they lose Anderson, who was Sam Darnold's most frequent target over the past two years. At the moment, they hardly have any reliable targets for their young quarterback, not an ideal situation as he enters his pivotal third season.
The team has only one healthy and established wide receiver under contract for 2020: Jamison Crowder. That's it.
The Jets, understandably, chose not to get involved in the bidding for star receiver Amari Cooper, who resigned with the Cowboys for $20 million per year early in free agency. Some of the biggest receivers in football were available on the trade market over the past two weeks -- with DeAndre Hopkins getting dealt to Arizona and Stefon Diggs heading to rival Buffalo. The Jets weren't a part of that either. And it makes sense: they have so many other needs to address that it wouldn't be wise to invest significant draft capital or a huge amount of money.
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But their decision to let a key weapon go for $20 million over two years -- arguably a bargain for a receiver with Anderson's numbers -- is hard to make sense. Especially when you look at their receiving corps, which is essentially one big question mark after Crowder. The next two men up? Quincy Enunwa, who hopes to play this year but said just a few months ago that his career might be over, and young Vyncint Smith, who showed some flashes last season but nothing that proved he's ready to be a featured receiver.
It's not great. But all is not lost for the Jets. They still have ample time and ways to replace Anderson before the start of the season. And it won't be impossible to fill the void left behind. Far from it. Yes, Anderson was the Jets' most dangerous weapon, but he wasn't a No. 1 receiver or even the centerpiece of their offense.
There are true forces of football nature out there. And if the Jets find one in this year's NFL draft, which happens to have the most loaded receiver class in recent memory, no one will mind (or even remember) that the Jets let Anderson go.
But what if they don't? Finding that depth at receiver won't be easy at this point, with nearly all the established weapons off the free agency board. (For example: Former Patriot Phillip Dorsett, who the Jets had shown interest in, signed with the Seahawks not long before the Anderson news broke on Tuesday.)
And the Jets still have a ton of other needs, including on the offensive line, which Douglas has upgraded significantly during free agency but is still very much a work in progress
If the Jets had brought back Anderson, they could have gone into next month's NFL Draft hoping to add a weapon at receiver. Now, they are under massive pressure to hit on a receiver to find a weapon for Darnold.
Does that mean they take a receiver with the No. 11 overall pick, potentially slowing the most important rebuilding project on their roster?
And, as Jets fans know more than most, the draft is no sure thing. What if they swing and miss on a receiver?
If the Jets had brought back Anderson, there's a chance the weapons around Darnold wouldn't have been better than they were in 2020, but they probably would have been at least as good as what he was throwing to in 2019 -- especially with tight end Chris Herndon set to return.
But if the Jets don't find a way to replace Anderson, there's a real chance that Darnold could have a worse group of weapons around him this year.
That's an unacceptable risk at this pivotal point in Darnold's career, especially considering the Jets could have had Anderson back for a reasonable price.
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