In his four years with the Miami Dolphins, Jarvis Landry caught 400 passes for 4,038 yards. He also finished as the 14th best wide receiver, in standard scoring, in fantasy football last season. This offseason, Landry was traded from the Miami Dolphins to the Cleveland Browns. In the same day, the Browns traded for Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor.

Jarvis Landry’s current average draft position (ADP) is 4.07 in 12-team standard scoring leagues. In most cases, that means Jarvis Landry is being drafted to start in fantasy lineups. That is, of course, assuming fantasy players aren’t spending their first four picks all on wide receivers.

Therefore, the big question for this case is: is Jarvis Landry worthy of being a starter on your fantasy lineup?

 

The Case FOR Jarvis Landry

The main argument for Jarvis Landry is fairly similar to the one for Saquon Barkley: he is very talented and worthy of a starting position on his actual, IRL team. As I mentioned before, Landry has caught 400 passes for 4,038 yards in four years. That means he’s averaging 100 passes for just under 1,010 yards per season. Let’s also not forget Landry did this all with Ryan Tannehill, Mike Moore, and Jay Cutler at quarterback. In addition, Landry has yet to miss a regular season game, playing in all 64 over four years, so he is incredibly durable.

 

The Case AGAINST Drafting Jarvis Landry

 

Working against Jarvis Landry is that he is in a new system with a new quarterback and, I would argue, a better receiving corps around him. Landry didn’t have much competition at receiver in Miami, but in Cleveland he has to share targets with the likes of Josh Gordon, Corey Coleman, and up-and-coming rookie tight end David Njoku.

Personally, and I may be alone here, I believe that Tyrod Taylor is an above-average quarterback in the NFL. I mean, he was on a playoff team last year. In two of his three years at quarterback, Taylor passed for over 3,000 yards. Will Taylor be able to get Landry the ball? We could take a look back at Taylor’s relationship with wide receiver Sammy Watkins on the field in Buffalo. Watkins caught 1,047 yards in 13 games in 2015. The Bills’ receiving corps back then isn’t much to compare to today’s Browns, but it’s something.

 

My Verdict

I think Jarvis Landry is worth his ADP and a starting spot on your roster. One thing to consider is that Landry may drop in drafts because he is now associated with the Cleveland Browns’ offense. If you draft him you may get a couple chuckles or a “yeah, you go ahead and draft a Brown”, but in the end I would have faith in Jarvis Landry’s talent and upside, as well as his long-term durability at the position.