Jarvis Landry is the free agent wide receiver the Ravens need
By Joe Schiller
If the Baltimore Ravens are targeting wide receivers in free agency, then Jarvis Landry should be on the top of their list.
The Baltimore Ravens will look to add offensive talent this offseason and that starts with getting Joe Flacco some help at wide receiver. Despite John Harbaugh’s claims to do that last year, the only help the Ravens brought in was veteran Jeremy Maclin. A season later, that move hasn’t yielded the results the team was expecting. Now it’s time to see a full commitment on the offensive side of the ball. The draft will play a big part but so should free agency.
Given their track record, the Ravens have been more inclined to target free agent receivers instead of in the draft. That trend includes the likes of Derrick Mason, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith Sr., Mike Wallace and others. All have made their contributions but the Ravens need to go all out for receiver talent in 2018. The top free agent on their list should be Jarvis Landry.
As it stands, there’s no telling what the wide receiver group will look like next season. Mike Wallace and Michael Campanaro are set to be free agents while Maclin is a top candidate to be cut. That would leave Chris Moore and Breshad Perriman as the top two receivers. That’s inexcusable and there’s no way the Ravens could be a .500 team at best with that formula. Signing Landry completely changes that dynamic and while it may seem like a distant dream, it’s a move the Ravens should heavily pursue.
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Landry can’t be put in the same category as the elite receivers in the league but he’s a very good slot receiver nonetheless. Not only does he have finesse but also isn’t afraid to get physical against bigger corners. Landry led the NFL in receptions with 112 on the season and is a player you want to get the ball to. To put that into perspective, that’s more than Wallace, Maclin, and Moore combined. Landry finished just short of 1,000 yards on the season but also had a career-high nine touchdown receptions. That’s an impressive stat line for a receiver that had to catch passes from Jay Cutler and Matt Moore the entire season.
What most impresses me the most when watching Landry is his passion. Coming from the same wide receiver tree as Odell Beckham Jr., Landry doesn’t bring the same antics but has a fire to him. That’s been missing at wide receiver for the Ravens since Smith’s retirement. At such a tough position you have to have that kind of mentality and that’s what the Ravens need.
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While I can sit here and praise Landry, the NFL is a business and it all comes down to money. Landry is going to have plenty of suitors in free agency, including the Dolphins themselves. The majority of other teams pursuing him have more cap room but the Ravens can clear space by cutting the likes of Maclin and others. Landry isn’t a player Ozzie Newsome is going to overpay but I’d like to see the Ravens make a push for him. You never know what can happen and it would be a splash signing along with a great move heading into next season.