Landry’s leadership is spark for Browns
Pro Bowl WR healthier after challenging season
After spinning off multiple defenders and hurdling another, Jarvis Landry looks like he’s capable of having his best Cleveland Browns season yet.
A five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, Landry got off to a hot start this season in last week’s 33-29 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He had five catches on five targets for 71 yards and rushed twice for 13 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown.
“I would take 11 Jarvises out there,” Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said. “He’s a pro’s pro. He is as tough as they come, and he generally gets us sparks. If we need something to get going, we try to find a way to get Juice involved because we know he’s going to make it happen.”
When training camp kicked off July 28, Landry said he felt great mentally and physically after 2020 proved to be the most challenging season of his NFL career.
He played with a hip injury throughout the 2019 season and had surgery in February 2020. Last year, he didn’t feel quite like himself following an offseason of rehabilitation, and he also suffered a broken rib Oct. 11.
In July, the 5-foot-11 Landry also revealed in his Youtube series “Just Juice” that he weighed 212 or 213 pounds when last season ended. The Browns list him as 196 pounds, which he said is his lowest playing weight since his second or third pro season in 2015 or 2016 with the Miami Dolphins.
Asked whether his good health allowed him to hurdle Chiefs safety Juan
Thornhill during a 9-yard reception early in the fourth quarter, Landry said, “Yeah, that's definitely part of it.”
Although Landry made it clear he believes he could have pulled off the move the past two seasons, it might not have felt as easy or smooth then as it did Sunday.
“Jarvis looks extremely well right now,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “He's moving around great. Mentally, he's such a leader for us — the team as a whole, not just the offense. The way he carries himself, plays and that physical presence, he's a physical guy. He's not the biggest guy, but he lays his body on the line. He has done a great job of putting himself in a position to have a great year.”
Early in the second quarter Sunday, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski turned to Landry on fourth-and-1 from the Chiefs 5-yard line. He took a handoff from Mayfield on a jet sweep, broke Thornhill's would-be tackle, spun off safety Daniel Sorensen and spun past cornerback L'jarius Sneed as the ball broke the plane of the goal line for a touchdown.
“The run on the sweep for the touchdown, I don't know if many guys are going to be able to do that,” Van Pelt said. “But his toughness he brings, his leadership and his love for the game, it's infectious. From Jarvis, you never know what you're going to get. I know he's going to do everything he can in his power to get into that end zone.”
Mayfield called the play “a grownman run.”
“That's just determination and wanting it more than the other guys,” Mayfield said. “You can tell that fires guys up. That's what I told [Landry]. When he plays like that, it elevates everybody around us.”