Jarvis Landry met with New England Patriots
LSU Tigers wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80) against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Despite re-signing Julian Edelmean and adding Brandon LaFell this offseason, the New England Patriots are in the market for some more wide receiver help and would do well to add another quality weapon for Tom Brady. Aaron Dobson, Josh Boyce, and Kenbrell Thompkins composed a quality trio of rookie receivers last year, and Dobson could develop into a fixture at the “X”. Those guys are worth keeping around for another year, but one of them (or LaFell or even Danny Amendola, though I would highly advise against cutting him) could be the odd man out this offseason, especially if the Patriots decide to draft a wide receiver with a high pick.
The 2014 NFL Draft class is stacked with talent at the wide receiver position, and I fully expect the Patriots to spend a second or third-round pick one one this year. According to the NFL Network’s Albert Breer, the Patriots met with former LSU Tigers star receiver Jarvis Landry, who was one half of Zach Mettenberger’s excellent WR duo in Baton Rouge. Odell Beckham Jr. is the more touted prospect and is a likely top-2o pick, but Landry would be a nice pick-up in the second round of the draft.
I could see the Patriots jumping on Landry if he’s there in the late second, and he would be solid value there. But if he falls to the late third round due to speed concerns and overwhelming depth at the position, then the Patriots would have a huge steal on their hands. Landry is the type of bigger receiver who can work out of the slot and on the outside that the Patriots could covet, and he has some similarities to another former LSU receiver on the Patriots roster in LaFell. Landry can block and move the chains, but he’s also a better player than LaFell due to his hands and route-running.
Landry’s measurables caused some to sour on him, but Landry’s tape and play is solid; he has Anquan Boldin upside. Patriots fans are unsurprisingly elated at this workout, and the Patriots are also fans of LSU products. They worked out his QB, Mettenberger, yesterday, and they could draft him as Tom Brady’s next backup to replace Ryan Mallett, who will be a free agent soon and is a similar QB to Mettenberger.