WR Landry offers Dolphins plenty of bang for their buck
DAVIE — There are many reasons the Dolphins drafted wide receiver Jarvis Landry in the second round twoweeks ago.
Landry displayed reason No. 1onFridayduringrookie minicamp. Showing off his route-running ability, Landry ran a crisp fade route to the left sideline. After shaking free of cornerback Walt Aikens, the fourth-round pick from Liberty, Landry went up high to snatch the pass, showing off his sure hands. Then he cut back to the inside against safety Jacques Washington, gaining yards after the catch on whatwouldhavebeenabout a 20-yard gain.
But also high on the list of reasons the Dolphins drafted Landry is this fiscal reality: a year fromnow, entering the 2015 season, Dolphins wide receiver MikeWallace will count $12.1 million against the salary cap, wide receiver Brian Hartline $7.3 million and wide receiver Brandon Gibson $4.2 million. Landry would likely costaround$900,000onthe salary cap. You do the math. Of course, any such decisions along those lines are a long way from coming to fruition.
Landry, who totaled 77 receptions for1,193yardsand 10touchdownslast season as a junior, still has to prove he can play at theNFLlevel.
The Dolphins think he can, and if so, he’d combine with Wallace, Hartline and Gibson to become a feared foursome this season.
The plan is try Landry at inside (slot) wide receiver, outsidewidereceiverandon special teams. Ideally, Landrywould become the most diverse receiver on the roster.
“We feel like he brings that to the table— aversatile skill set to play both inside the slot and on the outside,” general manager Dennis Hickey said. “We feel like he’s definitely going to help us on special teams.”
Landry, a team captain at LSUaswell as winner of the team’s MVP award, is an interesting mixture of confidence and awareness. On draft night Landry was askedifitwasaccuratetosay at LSU, fellowwide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr., a firstround pick by theNewYork Giants, was the speed guy, and Landrywas thephysical guy.
“I was the reliable guy,” Landry declared boldly.
Itwascontrolledswagger, not cockiness.
In almost every interview since, Landry has been confident yet humble. He mentions he’s simply learning, doing what he’s told by coaches and trying to represent the Dolphins well on and off the field. Landry evendeferredwhendiscussing Friday’s artful play.
“I think it was just the quarterback trusting me to make a play, and I did,” he said.
The Dolphins think Landry can make similar plays on special teams.
Landry wasn’t a regular kickoff or punt returner at LSU. He finished his threeseason career with five kickoff returns for 87 yards (17.4 yards per return) and no touchdowns, and three punt returns for 38 yards (12.7 yards per return) and no touchdowns.
But you can’t measure Landrybynumbers. Here’sa guy who ran a 4.77-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine after sustaining a right hamstring injury during warmups. Landry brought that time down to around 4.5 seconds at his proday, but hisnumbersstill don’t turn heads.
Landry had a fairly unimpressive 28.2-inch vertical jump. By comparison, Beckham had a 38.5-inch verticaljump. Landryhadan equally unimpressive 9 feet, 2 inches in the standing broad jump. Beckham registered10 feet, 2 inches.
None of the numbers bothered the Dolphins. They know the No. 1 reason they drafted Landry.
“It’s not a number on the stopwatch,” Hickey said. “It’s how fast they played with a helmet, shoulder pads and with other guys trying to cover him.
“That was Jarvis’ case in that he always made plays, gotopen, hadseparationand made great catches. And that’s what he’s been doing out here for the last two weeks.”