Jarvis Landry Proving to Be Spark Plug Dolphins Desperately Needed: When the Miami Dolphins selected wide receiver Jarvis “Juice” Landry with the 63rd overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft, the teams offense got a much-needed spark plug. The former LSU Tiger embodies the tough, consistent approach that is sorely lacking among the other receivers on the depth chart. It’s Landry’s mindset and willingness to go over the middle of the field, make a catch in traffic and take the hard hit that has already endeared him to Dolphins’ players and fans. Star cornerback Brent Grimes was a member of the Landry fan club shortly after summer camps began, saying that the second-round pick was “impressive” while he made one-handed catches across the field, per Mike Florio of Pro Football talk. Dolphins’ coaches have shown their affinity toward the rookie receiver as well. Despite having veteran receivers Brandon Gibson and Rishard Matthews as slot options, Landry has been the unquestioned starting slot receiver since Week 4, getting more snaps per game than Gibson each week. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor has been featuring Landry as one of the main receiving option for quarterback Ryan Tannehill this year. His 49 targets rank third on the Dolphins, just behind Mike Wallace and Charles Clay, per ESPN. Including his 10 targets in Week 10 means that Landry is averaging over six targets per game since Week 2, more than any Dolphin but Wallace, who is getting 7.5 targets a game. Although he is a slot receiver, he has been more effective than starting outside receiver Brian Hartline. Landry’s designation as the No. 3 receiver doesn’t reflect his actual importance to the offense, as his role is only growing with each week. What differentiates Landry from the rest of the Miami receivers is his ability to make plays after the catch. Wallace is more known for his deep speed, and Hartline is more of a possession type. Landry is similar to former Dolphins wideout O.J. McDuffie, who didn’t have excellent speed, size or numbers, but was a vital part of a winning team. Looking at how the Dolphins use Landry, it’s easy to see how he will be a focal point of the offense for years to come. Lazor has worked to get Landry in space, and he’s rewarded the offense with several catch-and-runs to sustain drives. His open-field shiftiness allows him to shake linebackers for extra yards with ease. With Miami attempting the fifth-most play-action passes in the NFL (per PFF), a dynamic slot receiver who can be relied upon every pass is an absolute need. Landry fits perfectly, ranking as the fifth-best slot receiver in the NFL, catching 76.5 percent of all passes thrown his way in the slot, according to PFF. There’s a reason why Landry leads the league in PFF’s target-percentage measure, which looks at how many routes are run from the slot and the number of times the receiver is targeted. Lazor uses Landry many times as the first inside read on passes coming off zone-read play action. You’ll be able to see the play below at least once a game, and it’s good for an easy gain. Once the defense sees Tannehill put the ball into the running back’s belly, the linebackers freeze or move closer to the line of scrimmage. That allows Landry to run straight to the middle of the field, where he has lots of space to operate behind the aforementioned linebackers. It’s a formula that’s easy to replicate and hard for defenses to stop. Comparing Landry to his fellow rookies, he’s done quite well for a late second-round pick. According to NFL, his 37 receptions ranks sixth amongst all rookies. Take a look at the rest of his rankings in the chart below. The place where Landry has been surprisingly good is in the return game. On just 19 kick returns, he’s averaging 32 yards for a total of 608 yards. That’s the third-highest in the NFL, which is a major improvement over what the Dolphins got out of the return game in 2013. His 46-yard return against the Detroit Lions is the type of spark Miami desired from him when he was selected. Landry isn’t the No. 1, alpha male-type receiver that is still on the Dolphins wish list, but he fills very important role. His status as the slot receiver is a complement to how good he actually is because of how often Lazor and Tannehill favor the position. There are few players in the league as reliable and tough as Landry, and Miami’s fed off his energy in the second half of games. His fire and passion are contagious, and are qualities that cannot be measured in shorts. It also will have opposing general managers kicking themselves for putting too much stock in his 4.77 40-yard dash time at the combine. All stats used are from sports-reference. Ian Wharton is a Miami Dolphins Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, contributor for Optimum Scouting, and analyst for FinDepth. Follow @NFLFilmStudy Read more NFL news on BleacherReport #Football #NFL #AFCEast #MiamiDolphins
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 03:39:35 +0000
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