Miami Dolphins Rookie Jarvis Landry Shines In Loss

Think back a couple of year’s ago. The Miami Dolphins two biggest issues were at the secondary and wide receiver position. They traded players such as Brandon Marshall and Vontae Davis for draft picks, causing a thinning of those two essential positions. Due to injury, the cornerback position is becoming an issue in Miami again. That is not the case with the offense, however. One of the big reasons is due to college standout Jarvis Landry. He has added a dimension that the offense lacked. A physical force that can make multiple defenders miss after the catch.

Over the last two seasons, the Dolphins have spent big money on wide receivers. We all know the five-year, sixty million dollar contract signed by Mike Wallace. That wasn’t the only deal the Dolphins made. Prior to the start of the 2013 season, number two wide out Brian Hartline signed a contract extension, guaranteeing him $12.5 million, keeping him in a Dolphins uniform for another five seasons. This tandem, along with Brandon Gibson made the Dolphins the highest paid receiver tandem in the NFL.

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Even with a lot of money being thrown at the position, the Dolphins still lacked a physical receiver. As of now, it appears as if the Dolphins have struck gold in their selection of Jarvis Landry. Landry, a second round pick out of LSU has really paid dividends to the Dolphins offense.

It didn’t take long for Landry to get integrated with the offense. Outside of the first game of the season (no catches, one target), Landry has consistently played well. He is currently second on the team in receptions, yards and touchdowns. He also is number one in the team in yards after the catch, with 279.

That’s where Landry is at his best. Once he makes a catch he is so hard to bring down. In no means is he the fastest player on the team. He may not even be in the top ten on the team. The problem’s team’s are having is trying to guess in which direction he is going to go. He has yet to provide a big yardage game but has lethal moves in the open field and is unlike anything the Dolphins have had in quite some time.

Below is his touchdown catch in a Thursday night win over Buffalo.

Despite yesterdays loss to the Denver Broncos, the Dolphins have played well. In particular Landry. With yesterday being a big step forward in continuing his success. He caught two more touchdowns in the redzone, improving his total to four in as many weeks. This is a good sign for Miami. They already have a redzone target in Mike Wallace but that doesn’t mean having a second is a bad thing.

Along with his production in the redzone being a great attribute, he is developing into one of Tannehill’s more consistent targets. Over the last three weeks, no one has had more targets or receptions on the team. His 26 targets is a major rise as opposed to what he was seeing earlier in the year and his nineteen receptions leads the team.

It is quite clear that Landry has played a crucial role in Miami’s mid-season rise. The Dolphins are in the thick of what is setting out to be a very close playoff race in the AFC. They still have three divisional games remaining and will play multiple defenses that can cause havoc. It is going to be fun to see if Jarvis Landry can continue to play a role in the offense. It sure seems like he will. It still be a bit early, but it looks like general manager Dennis Hickey has done well his his second round pick.

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