Hailing from McHenry, Illinois, Robert Tonyan began his football career as a quarterback. He set his school's passing record with 5000 career passing yards. In 2012, he enrolled at Indiana State University. Following a redshirt season and an unsuccessful stint as backup quarterback, he made the transition to wide receiver. In 2014, he used his monstrous wingspan and 10-inch hands to pile up 747 receiving yards on 54 receptions. He maintained steady production throughout his remaining years at ISU, and ended on a high note with a 10 touchdown season. His college stats weren’t enough to be invited to the combine, but he displayed size-adjusted speed at his pro day, putting up a 4.63 second 40 time.
Robert Tonyan went undrafted, but got his chance when the Lions signed him as an undrafted free agent 2 weeks after the draft. The Lions opted to cut him prior to the beginning of the season, but the Packers scooped him up for their practice squad late in the season. He would resign with the team in the offseason. He only played in 5 games in the 2018 season, but made an immediate impact in the league when he caught his first NFL reception for a 54 yard touchdown vs the Seahawks. Playing time was still hard to come by 2019, failing to eclipse a 25-percent snap share and 36 routes run in 9 games.
The following season, Tonyan took over the starting role and had an explosive breakout season. He earned an 11.8-percent target share, 8 deep balls, and 235 yards after the catch. He was a red zone nightmare, leading all tight ends with 11 touchdowns and 0 drops with less than 450 air yards. 2021 was not as kind to him. His next gen stats took a nosedive across the board. To put the icing on the cake, he exited in week 8 with an ACL tear and missed the remainder of the season. It was clear before the injury that his 100.1 2021 ADP was far too high, as he struggled to score fantasy points weekly. Tonyan’s contract was restructured, making him an unrestricted free agent. With a plummeting fantasy ranking in dynasty formats, the window of fantasy relevance is closing for Tonyan.
