Bill Belichick summed it up perfectly as the Patriots prepared to face Jarvis Landry and the Dolphins last season.
"Landry's role," the New England Patriots coach said, "is he gets the ball a lot."
No NFL wide receiver touched the ball more than Landry in 2017, and it's why the new Cleveland playmaker checked in at No. 52 on NFL Network's list of the league's top 100 players. It marks the third straight year Landry, who has amassed more catches (400) than anyone in NFL history over the course of his first four seasons, has made the list.
Landry is the second Browns player to make the list, which is being unveiled in reverse order over the course of the next few weeks. Running back Carlos Hyde was 97th.
"Whether the ball is thrown behind me, too high, it's my ability to catch the ball with one hand or two hands. Receivers talk about it. We call it catch radius," Landry said. "The bigger your catch radius is, the more likely you have a chance of catching the ball. I like to think I have a big catch radius and it makes my game special."
The Browns are banking on Landry's special prowess as a playmaking vacuum at the wide receiver position. Cleveland acquired the three-time Pro Bowler in a trade with the Dolphins at the start of the league year and recently signed him to a contract extension.
Landry figures to be at the center of a revamped passing attack that features new options at all of the skill positions.
"Jarvis Landry is the type of football player we want on this team for a long time," general manager John Dorsey said. "Obviously, he's an accomplished playmaker, that's why we went after him in the trade but in his short time as a Brown we can already see the type of leadership and competitiveness he's going to bring to his teammates."
