WR Andre Roberts, Arizona Cardinals

HT: 5-11, WT: 195, Born: 1-9-1988, College: Citadel, Drafted: Round 3

2013 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of May 6th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: C Fleener (197), Andre Roberts (198), B Celek (199), D Keller (200)
Position: B Quick (180-WR64), R Randle (191-WR65), Andre Roberts (198 - WR66), S Moss (202-WR67), S Hill (203-WR68)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

PPR Average draft position

Current as of May 6th. [Full PPR ADP list]

Overall: B Lloyd (183), Andre Roberts (185), D Keller (186), C Fleener (187)
Position: R Randle (181-WR63), B Lloyd (183-WR64), Andre Roberts (185 - WR65), B LaFell (191-WR66), B Quick (194-WR67)
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Latest News

Cardinals | Carson Palmer wants chemistry with all WRs (Wed May 15, 06:04 PM) - Arizona Cardinals QB Carson Palmer said he wants to build chemistry with all of the wide receivers because he will not be able to throw to WR Larry Fitzgerald all the time. 'It's of the utmost importance to be on the same page with Larry, but it's of the utmost importance to be on the same page with every one of those guys because the ball can't always go to him,' Palmer said. 'I know that's not what he wants to hear, but that's the truth. There will be teams that key on him and there will be games where he doesn't have as many catches as other games. It's that much more important I have that rhythm and timing down with [WR Michael Floyd] and [WR Andre Roberts] and whoever that third and fourth guy is going to be.'

Our View: The Cardinals improved their O-Line this year and that will allow Palmer more time to throw. The Bruce Arians offense is all about downfield passing and being aggressive downfield. Larry Fitzgerald finished last year as the 42nd best fantasy WR but could finish in the top 25 this season.
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Cardinals | Larry Fitzgerald to move around (Wed May 15, 12:00 AM) - Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald will be lined up in different spots this year, sometimes working in the slot with WR Andre Roberts on the outside.

Our View: In the Arians offense as the Colts WR1 we saw Reggie Wayne finish as 2012's 15th best WR in fantasy football. We could see Fitzgerald bounce back this year and finish in a similar spot. Fitzgerald struggled last year because of the team's QB woes and finished as the 42nd best WR in fantasy football.
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Cardinals | Michael Floyd looking impressive (Tue May 14, 11:59 PM) - Arizona Cardinals WR Michael Floyd looked impressive in the first day of organized team activities (OTAs) Tuesday, May 14. He ran with the first team more than WR Andre Roberts, who also had a good showing.

Our View: Floyd has incredible upside entering his second season in the NFL. He's got the size/speed combination to be a dangerous downfield threat and also a quality red zone target. Floyd's ADP is WR64 and he's coming off the board at the beginning of round 14. In the Arians offense he could finish the season as a top 35 WR in 2013 if he wins the WR2 job opposite Larry Fitzgerald and plays up to his potential.
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2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Roberts looked like the clear second option in Arizona, no matter who the quarterback was. His first touch of the game was an end around where he broke three tackles on the 15 yard gain. Later in the drive he made a great catch in between two defenders for a 19 yard pick up. His route on the game winning touchdown was a thing of beauty, and Kolb put it in a great place after he’d beat his man by just a step.

Week 2 - Roberts was the definition of quiet, until he snagged a quick pass near the goal line and scored easily. Kevin Kolb wasn’t particularly effective in getting the ball to his wideouts, so time will tell if this is a growing trend or if the fact that Roberts has scored in two straight games is the real story.

Week 3 - Andre Roberts had a modest 3 catch, 55 yard performance that could have been much more. An unnecessary, albeit correct, holding penalty on Fitzgerald negated 50 yards of a brilliant catch and run that would have set the Cardinals up at the Eagles’ 5 yard line. He also caught Kolb’s first pass attempt of game and made a third down reception.

Week 4 - As the Dolphins became even more wary of Fitzgerald on the field, Andre Roberts took advantage. Despite not being involved much early on, Roberts became the game changer in the second half. He adjusted well to a slightly inaccurate back shoulder throw from Kolb in the third quarter when the Dolphins sent blitzers. Roberts beat his man deep but Kolb didn't put the ball out in front of him to allow him to get to the endzone. Roberts next reception got him there however. He manipulated the Dolphins' zone coverage by faking an out route against Richard Marshall who was covering a deep third of the field on the outside. The result was Roberts running free down the seam for a relatively easy touchdown reception. Roberts caught a 16 yard hitch route on 3rd and 20 when the Dolphins played prevent defense. Caught a hitch route on next play to convert first down with 10 yard gain. He somewhat took over the Fitzgerald role as the primary receiver when he then caught the game-tying touchdown in the corner of the endzone. Kolb stepped up into the pocket and threw a very accurate pass to the corner of the field as Roberts came across and stuttered his feet to stay in bounds.

Week 5 - Roberts was targeted ten times, primarily on very short throws, and added an end around run to the mix. He showed great ballcarrier vision, and took advantage of the single coverage he was afforded as the Rams put all their guys on Fitzgerald.

Week 6 - Roberts was 2nd on the team in targets with six, but really struggled to find any rhythm, only catching two of them. Roberts had a bad drop on 3rd and five, missing an opportunity to extend a drive and having to instead, settle for a FG. Roberts ran a quick out and Kolb delivered a perfect pass, but Roberts turned up field before he had locked in the catch. With the defense in man coverage, there was little in-between Roberts and the end zone had he come down with it. Kolb and Roberts finally connected on a 16-yard play, on a play action fake where Roberts did a nice job reading the defense and settling down in the middle of the field.

Week 7 - Throughout the game, Roberts showed great ability to find the soft part of the zone coverage. Coupled with crisp routes, Roberts was often able to catch balls in stride and turn upfield for medium gains. Roberts was also Skelton’s favorite in the two-minute drill, being targeted again and again as the Cardinals were able to get down the field. His ability to get open was a large part of this, as many of the other Arizona receivers struggled to get separation. His touchdown catch was the result of Antoine Winfield jumping Rob Housler’s route. This left a large gap, and Roberts was able to turn at the goal line and catch an accurate ball for the score.

Week 8 - With coverage always rolled over to Larry Fitzgerald, Roberts was able to take advantage of space, often finding the open gaps in coverage and catching any balls in his vicinity. On the quick passes that Skelton was able to execute most effectively, it was Roberts who was often on the receiving end, displaying the same ability to gain separation from corners that he did last week against Minnesota. He wasn’t able to get many yards after the catch, as the 49er defense often swarmed him, but on one occasion he found space underneath, but Skelton threw the ball too high and Roberts had to make an adjustment to catch it. With an accurate throw he would have been able to run for a nice gain, but with Skelton hanging the ball so high, Roberts was instead slammed to the ground by a defender. Roberts was the receiver that Skelton targeted when Fitzgerald was double covered, and more often than not Roberts was able to make the most from his opportunities.

Week 9 - Roberts continues to quietly emerge as a solid number two target to Larry Fitzgerald with his most recent performance at Green Bay. He turned Casey Heyward around in 1-on-1 coverage and was unlucky not to score, but set up the Cardinals first score of the game with his 40-yard catch in the second quarter. He continued to get open on intermediate routes down the field, and was again unfortunate as Skelton missed him on a couple of occasions, but still reeled in four of his seven targets. Roberts has a firm grip on the number 2 wide receiver, and later in the game, would often move inside to the slot when the Cardinals used Michael Floyd instead of Early Doucet as the third wide receiver. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Roberts’ targets in the slot might see an uptick, with the offensive line struggles, and Skelton often needing to have a quick trigger on his release.

Week 11 - Andre Roberts hardly contributed at all to this football game but had to adjust to a new, rookie QB under center which affected the entire offense. Roberts had to deal with a QB change early in the game as Skelton struggled to move the ball. Roberts was low on the target list for rookie QB Lindley who rarely managed to get through his progressions to a guy like Roberts due to the pass rush the Falcons generated. Roberts’ big shot to produce came on a deep attempt but the pass was just slightly overthrown and fell incomplete. Roberts only managed a short catch on the outside in the entire game. Roberts has struggled to produce no matter what QB is the starter for the Cardinals and it’s very likely that this will continue as QB Lindley tries to learn the game.

Week 12 - Roberts caught a crossing route for 11 yards with a defender on his back. He extended well to make the reception for the first down. Roberts' next reception came underneath as he came free from a bunch formation, Roberts ran a slant route underneath his inside receiver before beating two defenders and being stopped just short of the goalline. Roberts ran a similar route in the second quarter, but was tackled short of a first down on this occasion. An end around allowed Roberts to take advantage of space with good blocking for a 12 yard gain. Roberts caught a quick curl route when the Cardinals were in their hurry-up offense, but was immediately tackled and limited to a short gain. Roberts stayed alive as Lindley evaded pass rushers in the backfield to catch a 10 yard pass over the middle infront of two defenders. Roberts caught a screen in the fourth quarter for a five yard gain. He followed that up with a curl route underneath the defense for five yards. A few plays later, Roberts found space over the middle for a 15 yard gain. Roberts added a 12 yard reception when the game was out of reach against an off defense.

Week 14 - Roberts was a late call to be active for the game and was involved early. He had two straight receptions on the opening drive to get Arizona into Seattle territory. His quickness got him separation early in an out route and a crossing pattern. After that drive, Roberts saw just three targets the rest of the way. He dropped an easy hitch route and one target was completely uncatchable. It was in the remote direction of Roberts, but intercepted by a Seattle linebacker over the middle. Roberts’ best matchup remaining this season is next week against Detroit. After scoring five times in his first seven games of the season, Roberts has now gone five games and 24 receptions without a touchdown.

Week 15 - Roberts was the most targeted Arizona receiver on third down with four opportunities in the short passing game. Twice he was ability to convert for the first down, once he came up short of the marker, and another target looked to be dropped by Roberts on an out route. His ability to separate early on a pass route meshes well with Lindley as the rookie quarterback was looking to get the ball out of his hands quickly against Detroit’s solid pass rush.

Week 16 - Roberts saw a ton of targets in the second half, many of them off target and one of which was picked off by Charles Tillman and returned for a touchdown. Ryan Lindley threw the ball well behind Roberts (it was almost a better throw to Tillman than Roberts) and Roberts didn’t react quick enough to break the pass up. He did a great job of gaining some extra yards on a catch a few minutes later though. On the play, Brian Hoyer had replaced Lindley at quarterback and he hit Roberts with a short pass. Roberts made the catch and turned upfield. He then made a defender miss and ran for a first down before being taken down. Roberts flashed some decent ability in the game and while he doesn’t have the upside of Fitzgerald or Floyd, he looks like he is shaping into a reliable target.

Week 17 - San Francisco dropped extra men in to coverage on most plays, and Roberts was unable to separate. Even on his short catches the coverage was too tight for Roberts to escape for yards after the catch, and his three catches all came on short routes that created separation purely based on timing. Roberts was unable to get away from man coverage at most levels, and his production reflected that inability.