Miami Dolphins 2015 Profiles: Jarvis Landry

After adding Kenny Stills, DeVante Parker, Greg Jennings, and Jordan Cameron this offseason, the Miami Dolphins have one of the NFL’s best collections of pass-catchers, and it’s telling that second-year LSU product Jarvis Landry is viewed as the top option. Parker may have more natural talent and both Cameron and Stills more playmaking ability, but Landry quickly established himself as one of the game’s top slot receivers as a rookie, showing off the polished route-running and elite hands that caused him to be compared to San Francisco 49ers standout veteran Anquan Boldin as a draft prospect.

Landry finished his first season in the league with 84 receptions for 758 yards, as he was Ryan Tannehill‘s safety valve option with just nine yards per reception. Tannehill excels at hitting up receivers in the intermediate and middle regions of the field, and even though his deep ball is criticized too often, there’s no doubt that he’s at his best on the shorter stuff.

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That’s exactly where he would utilize Landry, who was almost strictly a slot receiver as a rookie. In fact, Pro Football Focus recorded him as lining up in the slot on 77.2% of his snaps. Only six receivers lined up in the slot on a greater percentage of their total snaps, and two of those wideouts were Cole Beasley of the Dallas Cowboys and Wes Welker, who is still a free agent.

Not only did Landry spend most of his time on the inside, but the 5’11” wideout was one of the best in the business when working out of the slot. According to PFF, no receiver had a catch rate higher than Landry’s 80.8% when lined up in the slot, and the player with the second-highest mark, Welker, wasn’t even within five percentage points of the LSU rookie. And not only did he catch almost everything thrown at him, but he also rarely dropped a pass, finishing the year with the league’s fifth-best drop rate (former teammate Odell Beckham Jr. was just ahead of him in fourth).

There’s no doubt that the 22-year-old is already one of the game’s best slot receivers, but it’s fair to wonder if the Dolphins will expand his role in 2015. That’s exactly what Landry is pining for, per the team’s official site, and the coaching staff isn’t “opposed” to allowing him to line up on the outside more often. We could see him emerge as a starter in two-wide sets across from first-round rookie DeVante Parker, but he’ll have to prove that he’s a better outside option than Stills in two-wide sets.

Since Landry spent so much of his time lined up in the slot last season, we didn’t get much of a chance to evaluate him on the outside. He doesn’t have enough long speed to win downfield, so he would be used as a “Z” in two-wide sets, and that would make it seem like he’s a better partner for Stills than Parker in those situations. However, hands and route-running chops are still desirable on the outside, so Landry could effectively move the chains for the Dolphins offense wherever he lines up.

Based on comments Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin made, it seems like the team isn’t even sure if Landry is the team’s best option as one of the starting receivers in two-wide sets. They know they have more evaluating to do this offseason, especially since it’s hard to tell if Landry can consistently win on the outside.

I’m sure he can generate enough separation to win on short and intermediate routes, because he was brilliant at that in the slot and in college. But he probably won’t be able to bring much of a vertical element to the team’s offense on the outside, so that’s something the Dolphins would have to take into account. After all, his longest reception last year went for just 25 yards, and he received just three targets that were at least 20 yards downfield. If he’s capable of bringing any sort of vertical play to the table for the Dolphins offense, then we clearly didn’t see it last year.

As a rookie, Jarvis Landry amassed 112 targets, which was just three away from Mike Wallace, now on the Minnesota Vikings, for the team lead, but it’s fair to wonder where that number will be next season. Since he played so well as a rookie, conventional wisdom states that the Dolphins should look to him more often, but since they’ve added so much pass-catching talent, it’s very possible that he could receive less targets.

Dec 1, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry (14) runs with the ball against the New York Jets during the fourth quarter of a game at MetLife Stadium. The Dolphins defeated the Jets 16-13. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Parker will command Tannehill’s attention as a well-rounded receiver who is a beast in the intermediate and outside region of the field, but I would be surprised if Landry doesn’t lead the team with over 100 targets next season.

He’s just such a consistent receiver, and Tannehill certainly valued the rookie’s technique and hands out of the slot; Landry will continue to be the recently rewarded quarterback’s go-to receiver and safety valve.

In fact, the smart money is still on his targets to trend upwards, and a 100-catch season isn’t out of the realm of reason, even if it seems unlikely with so many mouths to feed.

But with about a 75% catch rate last year, Landry might only need around 130 targets to hit triple-digit receptions, which is a threshold that just four receivers (Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, Julio Jones, and Demaryius Thomas) hit last season.

A 90-catch season is a more reasonable projection, but Landry’s catch rate out of the slot will likely be so high again that it will only be a question of “volume”; volume that could increase if he gets the added snaps on the outside in two-wide sets that he’s looking for.

Next: Dolphins: Who will break out?

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