The Miami Dolphins gave Ryan Tannehill a huge contract this offseason, and with that comes huge expectations. Tannehill won't be able to do it on his own, though, as he will need receivers to step up and have a big impact on the field, and one of those is Jarvis Landry. Landry had a nice rookie season, but he is now expected to take a major step forward and could see a lot of targets in the red zone, according to James Walker of ESPN.
Landry was the Dolphins second round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft in a ridiculously deep wide receiver class. Toward the end of last season it became abundantly clear that Landry had already become Tannehill's favorite target and his production shot up. Landry ended the season with 84 receptions, 758 yards and five touchdowns. The five touchdowns last season make it seem like Landry isn't much of a red-zone threat, but Walker expects him to get a ton of targets down there and possibly double his touchdown total.
Landry is only 6 feet tall, but he has the best hands on the team and runs extremely precise routes, which should work to his advantage in the red zone.
Aside from Landry, another potential red-zone target for the Dolphins might be new tight end Jordan Cameron. But Walker expects Tannehill to stay with Landry on these potential touchdown-scoring plays because of familiarity.
On the wide receiver depth chart Landry is the clear number one, with Greg Jennings, Kenny Stills and rookie DeVante Parker, if he ever gets healthy, behind him. Stills and Jennings aren't particularly big guys or thought of as red zone threats, and Parker has still not gotten on the practice field, so Landry might be the best bet in the red zone.
Landry had a very good rookie season that went under the radar because of all of the other great rookies in the league. He will come into this season as the number one guy in Miami and should get even more than the 112 targets he saw a year ago. Ten touchdowns is a big-time prediction for Landry, but if he sees the amount of red zone work expected he should be able to have a huge year.
