Fantasy Football 2019: Jarvis Landry-Under the radar underneath receiver

After being relied on as the number one receiver in Cleveland last season, Jarvis Landry is flying under the radar and underneath defenses in 2019.

Since entering the NFL in 2014, Jarvis Landry has been a football catching machine. Landry averaged 100 catches per year in his four seasons with the Dolphins before making the move to Cleveland last season.

Landry seemed to develop a quick rapport with quarterback Tyrod Taylor during training camp and preseason for the tandem’s first season with their new team, and it showed early last season. Landry was targeted 15 times in week one and scored nearly 50 PPR fantasy points in his first three games (which Taylor started at quarterback).

Once Baker Mayfield took over as the full-time starting quarterback, it clearly took some time for him and Landry to get on the same page. From week five to week 12, Landry scored over 12 PPR fantasy points just one time (week seven against Tampa Bay).

However, from week 12 on, Landry seemed to get back on track a bit. During this span, Landry posted two of his four 100-yard receiving games and also scored three of his five total touchdowns on the season (two receiving and one rushing). This late surge should bode well for the chemistry and upside between him and Mayfield coming into 2019.

This offseason enters the x-factor that could have the biggest effect on Landry’s fantasy relevance in 2019. The Browns traded for Landry’s former teammate at LSU, fellow receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

With Beckham being one of the biggest and most notable names and faces in the NFL, many analysts feel that his presence in Cleveland will have a pretty substantial negative effect on Landry’s fantasy potential.

The thought is that Odell will be the clear number one receiver, receive the clear majority of the targets and will take away chances across the field and throughout the game that previously would have gone to Landry.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the addition of Beckham will lead to Landry flying up the wide receiver list into the top 10 or 15, but I don’t think he’ll be hindered as much as many experts think. In fact, Beckham being there could actually help Landry in a couple of ways.

Jarvis Landry thrives coming out of the slot, running shorter route, catching quick passes, and making big plays up the field. Having a presence such as Beckham on the outside should be instrumental in allowing Landry to thrive as the type of receiver he should be in the NFL.

As the number one receiver in Cleveland a season ago, Landry still lined up a ton in the slot, but played outside a lot more than he probably should. With Beckham outside, Landry can live in the slot. That means Beckham should typically draw the attention of some of the better corners in the league (guys that could afford to follow Landry wherever he went last year). That will leave Landry matched up against nickel corners, safeties, and sometimes even linebackers. As skilled of a receiver as he is, Landry should dominate against that sort of opposition.

Additionally, Beckham can use his down-the-field prowess to essentially “take the top off” of the defense. With Beckham drawing the attention of the opposition’s number one cornerback as well as the deep safeties, Landry should have a ton of open field to work with underneath, in the area in which he has excelled his entire career. If for whatever reason the deep routes for Beckham don’t pan out, Mayfield should have Landry as a check down of sort incredibly often. A little 5-10 yard throw across the middle or a simple bubble screen can turn into a huge play with Jarvis Landry in space.

More from Fantasy Football

• Top 10 fantasy football dynasty wide receivers heading into 2023
• Fantasy Football: How high should Alexander Mattison’s ADP rise after Dalvin Cook release?
• Top 10 fantasy football dynasty running backs heading into 2023
• Top 10 dynasty quarterbacks heading into 2023
• 5 players fantasy football owners should hope are traded this offseason

Not only does this make sense on paper and hypothetically, but it has happened and worked before. As I mentioned before, Landry and Beckham were teammates in college at LSU. A lot of times when that is said about two NFL players they may be overlapped a year or two. But these two played together for the entirety of both of their college careers.

In their time at LSU, Landry and Beckham had pretty similar production. Beckham saw a lot more action their freshman season so his career numbers are a bit better, but over the final two years, Landry was arguably even a little more productive than Odell. 15 touchdowns to Odell’s 10, and 133 receptions compared to 102 from Beckham, Landry has shown that he can be incredibly productive on the field at the same time as Beckham.

According to FantasyPros, Landry’s PPR ADP is WR27 and 65 overall. But where he is really going under the radar is with fantasy experts. Most of the experts that FantasyPros list rank Landry somewhere between 30 and 40 at receiver and between 70 and 80 overall. In PPR, Landry is definitely a sleeper in that range. I think he is a fringe top-20 PPR fantasy receiver with a floor of 30-35 and top 15 upside.

Landry was WR18 in PPR last season even with his ups and downs. Yes, he will likely see fewer targets this year but that doesn’t mean that his numbers will drop significantly. His targets should just be higher quality after quarterbacks maybe tried to force balls to him a season ago. Get the ball to an open Jarvis Landry and you never know what might happen. He may never get back to 100 catches a year like he had in Miami, but I think 80 receptions is a lock, and 100 isn’t out of the question.

Obviously he would take a hit in non-PPR leagues (WR30-35 or so), but Jarvis Landry could absolutely be a steal in rounds 6-8 in fantasy drafts everywhere this season. Landry’s relationship with Mayfield and Beckham could be extremely important to his success this season. If the three are working together at peak performance, the Browns and the trio could be dangerous in the NFL and in fantasy.

Stay tuned to FanSided Fantasy each and every day for all the latest NFL and Fantasy Football news & analysis!