keithjackson
junkyard dolphin
While he looked awesome at times in the preseason, Jarvis Landry has been a bit underwhelming so far this season, whether it's his two fumbles on punts or hi sun characteristic drops. However, it seems like he is starting to come on, getting more and more involved in every game. He already the team's #3 WR, now getting more snaps than both Brandon Gibson and Rishard Matthews. In a year that is primed to be a huge year for rookie WRs, this is a good time to look and see how he is doing compared to his classmates four weeks into the season.
First, the two headliners have got to be Kelvin Benjamin and Alex Hurns. Benjamin is a front runner for OROY with 329 yards and 17 first downs, way more than anyone else in the class. Hurns came out of nowhere for the second most yards with 254, and a whopping 21.2 yard average on 12 receptions. But how about everyone else? There are only four other rookie WRs with more yards than Jarvis (111): Mike Evans (203), Brandin Cooks (199), Sammy Watkins (197), and Jordan Matthews (141).
The positive is that Jarvis has done this with only 18 targets, whereas everybody else above him received 24-36 targets. In fact, Jarvis has caught 66% of balls thrown his way (12), second only to Cooks' 76% (23/30). His first down rate (7) is right in the middle of the pack. Also, it should be noted that Jarvis' 105 offensive snaps are way lower than everybody else's 137-174 snaps (not sure if that's a good or bad thing). On the flip side, he has 38 ST snaps, whereas the other six have 9 combined ST snaps (and Cooks had 8 of them). While he may not be returning punts much longer, Jarvis actually leads the entire NFL in KO return yards (287) and is #4 KO average (28.7). He leads ALL rookies by a mile in All Purpose Yards (449), and he is averaging 14.5 yards every time he touches the ball, which also leads all rookies (#5 in the NFL).
Where he really shines as a WR is his YAC, which is pretty surprising considering the preseason chatter was that he is slow and couldn't get away from defenders. I'm somewhat shocked that 51% of his yards are coming after the catch! (The next closest is Cooks' 40%.) He has 57 YAC, which is only surpassed by Hurns (90) and Cooks (80). Considering his 12 targets, he's averaging 4.75 YAC on each reception, second only to Hurns' outstanding 7.5. The next closest is again Cooks (3.5). Surprisingly, the big bodies have poor tackle breaking ability in their YAC : Benjamin (29), Evans (33), and Matthews (36). Where he needs work is scoring touchdowns, as he's the only one of the group without one. (An important note, I'm using the most modest number of 57 yards from ESPN, but footballdb.com cites 88 YAC and sportingcharts.com says 90 YAC, which makes it even more impressive.)
Ultimately looking at the stats made me feel better about his performance to date, as he seems to be in the second tier of rookie WRs, after Benjamin and Hurns, and if you include ST's contributions he really is the only other WR that could make the argument to be in the conversation. Where I expect him to improve the most is on third down, once he is more acclimated into the pros. Jarvis was the best WR in the NCAA last year on third down period: He led the NCAA with 6 TDs on third down; he led all WRs with 28 third down receptions, 26 of his 28 reception resulted in first downs; his 6 receptions of 25+ yards was #1, and his 15 receptions of 15+ yards was #2. (I can't find the stats for third down yards, but I he might've been #1 there as well.)
As he gets more comfortable in this system, and with Tannehill, I fully expect him to continue to improve as he becomes a more integral part of the offense. Yes, there are still holes in his game and youthful mistakes. Perhaps, we will be able to include him in the conversation as one of the best rookie WRs of 2014; so far the early returns are promising.
First, the two headliners have got to be Kelvin Benjamin and Alex Hurns. Benjamin is a front runner for OROY with 329 yards and 17 first downs, way more than anyone else in the class. Hurns came out of nowhere for the second most yards with 254, and a whopping 21.2 yard average on 12 receptions. But how about everyone else? There are only four other rookie WRs with more yards than Jarvis (111): Mike Evans (203), Brandin Cooks (199), Sammy Watkins (197), and Jordan Matthews (141).
The positive is that Jarvis has done this with only 18 targets, whereas everybody else above him received 24-36 targets. In fact, Jarvis has caught 66% of balls thrown his way (12), second only to Cooks' 76% (23/30). His first down rate (7) is right in the middle of the pack. Also, it should be noted that Jarvis' 105 offensive snaps are way lower than everybody else's 137-174 snaps (not sure if that's a good or bad thing). On the flip side, he has 38 ST snaps, whereas the other six have 9 combined ST snaps (and Cooks had 8 of them). While he may not be returning punts much longer, Jarvis actually leads the entire NFL in KO return yards (287) and is #4 KO average (28.7). He leads ALL rookies by a mile in All Purpose Yards (449), and he is averaging 14.5 yards every time he touches the ball, which also leads all rookies (#5 in the NFL).
Where he really shines as a WR is his YAC, which is pretty surprising considering the preseason chatter was that he is slow and couldn't get away from defenders. I'm somewhat shocked that 51% of his yards are coming after the catch! (The next closest is Cooks' 40%.) He has 57 YAC, which is only surpassed by Hurns (90) and Cooks (80). Considering his 12 targets, he's averaging 4.75 YAC on each reception, second only to Hurns' outstanding 7.5. The next closest is again Cooks (3.5). Surprisingly, the big bodies have poor tackle breaking ability in their YAC : Benjamin (29), Evans (33), and Matthews (36). Where he needs work is scoring touchdowns, as he's the only one of the group without one. (An important note, I'm using the most modest number of 57 yards from ESPN, but footballdb.com cites 88 YAC and sportingcharts.com says 90 YAC, which makes it even more impressive.)
Ultimately looking at the stats made me feel better about his performance to date, as he seems to be in the second tier of rookie WRs, after Benjamin and Hurns, and if you include ST's contributions he really is the only other WR that could make the argument to be in the conversation. Where I expect him to improve the most is on third down, once he is more acclimated into the pros. Jarvis was the best WR in the NCAA last year on third down period: He led the NCAA with 6 TDs on third down; he led all WRs with 28 third down receptions, 26 of his 28 reception resulted in first downs; his 6 receptions of 25+ yards was #1, and his 15 receptions of 15+ yards was #2. (I can't find the stats for third down yards, but I he might've been #1 there as well.)
As he gets more comfortable in this system, and with Tannehill, I fully expect him to continue to improve as he becomes a more integral part of the offense. Yes, there are still holes in his game and youthful mistakes. Perhaps, we will be able to include him in the conversation as one of the best rookie WRs of 2014; so far the early returns are promising.
