FLORHAM PARK, N.J. —Robby Anderson sat down several months ago and watched the film from his rookie campaign. Then he watched footage from his 2017 season. Then more 2016. Then more 2017.
He shook his head.
The outside world saw him blossom into a potential star for the Jets. Anderson observed things differently. His stats were nice, sure. But he didn’t like his feet. A minor ankle ailment wouldn’t let him cut the way he wanted or stop as abruptly as he’d like.
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“With route running, you need to eliminate steps,”he begins to explain.
It’s hard to imagine that the 25-year-old breaking down route concepts in his locker stall is the same wide-eyed kid who showed up as an undrafted free agent three years ago. It took time, but he’s not just on the field catching passes anymore. He’s well on his way to becoming a complete receiver.
Anderson’s kind of been the Jets’ version ofRicky ‘Wild Thing’ Vaughn in “Major League.” Vaughn had one pitch, and one pitch only: The Terminator, a 100-plus-mile-per-hour fastball. Anderson’s terminator? His ability to get deep. He averaged 14.9 yards per catch last year.
One issue: He doesn’t have a changeup. So the Jets sent him into this offseason with a goal: Round out your arsenal.
Jets receivers coach Karl Dorrell is a technician. He preaches to his players how small the gap is between success and failure. There’s no better example of that than route running. You’re “wide-open” with a yard of separation, he says. And you create that separation with your footwork.
The entire goal of running routes is to get in and out of your breaks as quickly as possible. Keyword: Quickly. Forget fast and speed. Eliminate steps and you’re quicker. If you get in and out of your breaks quicker than the guy covering you, you win.
“I think (Anderson’s) made progress in that area,” Dorrell said. “He can do the short stuff, intermediate, deep. The last couple of years it’s been the deep stuff. I think he’s going to be able to, and you’ll see all the progress on the other things as well.”
Anderson isn’t just young in age, but in football terms as well. He played just two years (24 games) at Temple before joining the Jets. They used him as a deep threat similar to how the Jets do. So it’s taken time for Anderson to fine tune and polish himself outside of the “see ball, get ball” mentality.
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Before showing up to rookie minicamp, Anderson worked with former Bengals star Chad Johnson. Before 2017, he spent time training with Brandon Marshall at his gym in Florida. This offseason, he again worked with Johnson, along with his uncle and trainer Daniel Harris.
Anderson won’t go into the specifics of what he did this summer — it’s why he seldom shared videos of the workouts on social media. The most detail he gives is he worked on routes with Johnson (one of NFL’s greatest route runners), and conditioning with his uncle. His “theory and method” is to stay in shape, but not “kill himself.” This allows him to peak when the regular season hits without any burnout.
He thinks it’s worked, claiming he’s healthy and that his body feels great. He says his feet are “the best they’ve been” since he entered the league. He now runs slants, drags, comebacks, posts and more as confidently as the go.
But it’s even more than that, he says. He’s made legitimate progress with pre-snap coverage recognition.
“The game is slowing down,” he explains.
When Anderson used to come to the line, his mind would focus on his route. He’d run it, look for the ball when it was supposed to come, then catch it if it was there. Now he’s identifying coverages. This lets him understand how to attack leverage, what to expect, where the defenders will be, and where the holes are once he has the ball in his hands.
All of it — improved route running, health, football IQ — has led to a newfound confidence. This is the year he believes he’ll be free, not limited to specific routes.
“As I get older, I gain experience,” Anderson said. “As I gain experience, I earn the trust of coordinators and coaches.”
And he’s looking forward to gaining some of his quarterback’s, too.
As good as Anderson’s been at going deep, he’s never really had a great deep-ball quarterback. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh McCown don’t have the strongest arms. Anderson played just two quarters with Geno Smith before Smith tore his ACL. Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg could throw deep, but nothing else.
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Newly-minted starter Sam Darnold has more than enough arm strength. He attempted more deep passes (20-plus yards) than any quarterback in college football last year and had a 91.0 quarterback rating on such throws from 2016-2017.
Anderson smiles when asked about Darnold’s arm. He starts to rub his hands together.
“We’re building that connection,” he says. “I’m happy to have him out there. I’m ready to build something great with him.
“We’ve been working on our deep ball.”
And a few slants and drags, too.
(Photo Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports)
Connor Hughes is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the New York Jets. He began covering the team in 2014, working mostly for The Star-Ledger and NJ.com before joining The Athletic in 2018. Hughes is a New Jersey native and alumnus of Monmouth University. Follow Connor on Twitter @connor_j_hughes
