I think I've expressed some skepticism about Jarvis Landry, both when he was still a free agent, and after signing with the Saints. New Orleans will probably have a lesser passing game, and if Michael Thomas is healthy, Landry not only won't be the top target, he might be playing a less-than-ideal position in the offense. New Orleans also has first-rounder Chris Olave.
But maybe I spoke too soon. Olave's a rookie, and we don't even know for sure if Thomas is healthy after the ankle injury he's been dealing with for 18 months now. And Landry, according to a story by beat writer Nick Underhill, has been dominating practices. Looking like a nice signing so far.
Landry has really had a pretty nice career, and might have several more good years. He's 29 years old, and unlike some 29-year-old NFL players, he's wearing his age very well.
Landry missed five games last season, but that's an anomaly. He missed a total of one the first seven years of his career. In those first seven seasons, he was a top-20 PPR wideout five times. (30th and 33rd the other two seasons.) Last year, if you project his 12-game numbers over a full season, he'd have finished as the 29th-best fantasy wideout. Two of those lesser years he was tied to Baker Mayfield, so it's not as if he needed an elite quarterback or passing game to be a nice starter.
| JARVIS LANDRY, YEAR BY YEAR | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | G | Tgt | No | Yds | TD | Rk |
| 2014 | Mia. | 16 | 112 | 84 | 758 | 5 | 30 |
| 2015 | Mia. | 16 | 166 | 110 | 1157 | 6 | 9 |
| 2016 | Mia. | 16 | 131 | 94 | 1136 | 4 | 13 |
| 2017 | Mia. | 16 | 161 | 112 | 987 | 9 | 4 |
| 2018 | Cle. | 16 | 149 | 81 | 976 | 5 | 18 |
| 2019 | Cle. | 16 | 138 | 83 | 1174 | 6 | 12 |
| 2020 | Cle. | 15 | 101 | 72 | 840 | 4 | 33 |
| 2021 (Proj.) | Cle. | 17 | 123 | 74 | 808 | 6 | 29 |
I don't know if I'm at a place where I'm eager to select Landry. Potentially he's a modest target in an even lesser passing game than he was in a year ago. But I think I was too cool on him previously. Some chance he has a credible season -- certainly well above where he'll be selected in most leagues.
--Andy Richardson