Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
With Jarvis Landry going on IR, which Browns wide receivers need to step up?
The Cleveland Browns beat the Houston Texans in Week 2, but they lost wide receiver Jarvis Landry to a knee injury very early in the game. As was trending toward being possible, on Tuesday the team announced Landry will go on IR.
Landry will miss at least the next three games, in the first injury-related absence of his career. He has been a 100-plus target guy in all three of seasons with the Browns, so his absence will be noticed even in their run-oriented offense.
Landry’s absence will leave behind some extra target share for the Browns’ tight ends–Austin Hooper, David Njoku and Harrison Bryant. Baker Mayfield has completed nearly 82 percent of his passes through two games, without Odell Beckham for both and without Landry for basically one.
But the Browns will need a wide receiver, or two, to step up in Landry’s absence. Who will it be?
Browns: 2 wide receivers who need to step up with Jarvis Landry on IR
2. Donovan Peoples-Jones
As a rookie last year, Peoples-Jones averaged 21.7 yards per catch with two touchdowns on 12 catches. He topped a 50 percent snap share in four of his 12 regular season games, and topped 50 yards in all four. He only has two catches for 18 yards this year, with a lost fumble in Week 2, but he played 80 and 76 percent of the offensive snaps in the respective two games.
Peoples-Jones is already seeing the field a lot, and it was not dependent on Landry’s health. More targets should come his way now, and he has to put up some numbers.