Panthers wide receiver Robby Anderson played with quarterback Sam Darnold when both men were with the Jets and that makes him a good judge of any change in Darnold since this year’s trade to Carolina.
Anderson’s judgement was delayed because he did not take part in the voluntary portions of the team’s offseason program, but he was on the field at mandatory minicamp on Tuesday and that allowed him to make an assessment of the quarterback. Anderson told reporters that he doesn’t see the same player he played with in 2018 and 2019.
“When I walked in the building I could see a new energy out of him, like a glow, charisma that I didn’t really see in New York,” Anderson said, via David Newton of ESPN.com. “I can definitely see the difference in him so far. . . . You know when a person can see like a glow, energy, their aura? I could kind of see that when I walked in the building.”
Anderson was Darnold’s No. 1 target with the Jets, but said that he thinks the Panthers offensive system is “more graspable” than the one Darnold was in before. That seems like a positive given Darnold’s lack of success with the Jets, but it will be some time before we know if the new glow remains in place outside of the practice field.
