Fantasy Upside
Jarvis Landry quietly had the most efficient season of his career last year. Landry’s 83 receptions were a far cry from his career-high of 112, yet he still managed to set a career high in receiving yards (1,174) due to his seventh place finish among wide receivers in yards after the catch and 26.6% target share in the Cleveland offense. The result of Landry’s efficiency was a 12th place finish among wide receivers in PPR scoring. By now there should be an alarm going off in the heads of observant fantasy drafters who would note Landry is currently being drafted as a WR3. Landry’s draft stock appears to be suffering from the perception that he only catches short passes over the middle of the field. His underlying metrics from last season show that this is just not true. Furthermore, Landry has the most established rapport with quarterback Baker Mayfield of anyone in the Browns’ offense. Landry projects as a value at his current ADP.
Fantasy Downside
Landry’s target share has room for regression, and the Browns will be hoping for greater contributions out of Odell Beckham, Kareem Hunt and their tight ends in the passing game this season. Landry may be getting more efficient as he gets older, but a reduction in volume is always concerning for fantasy purposes. On that same note, Landry will have to adapt to new Head Coach Kevin Stefanski’s run-heavy scheme. While this scheme might result in greater overall offensive efficiency in Cleveland, it will likely cost the pass catchers some targets in the long run.
2020 Bottom Line
Landry is being drafted as a WR3, which would appear to be his floor based on his production with Mayfield under center. Landry presents great value at his current ADP as someone who will be priced as a flex play but could easily return WR2 numbers.
