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Another Anquan? LSU’s Landry shares plenty in common with Boldin[/h1]
Posted on
April 21, 2014 at 11:19 am by
Eric Branch in
49ers
The 49ers probably won’t have 33-year-old Anquan Boldin for much longer, but they could grab his apparent clone in May.
It remains to be seen if LSU wide receiver Jarvis Landry can approach Boldin’s NFL production, but the run-up to his pro career has plenty of similarities.
“He is so reminiscent of Anquan Boldin coming out of Florida State,” said Louisiana-based draft analyst Mike Detillier, who saw each of Landry’s college games as a member of LSU’s radio network. “Anquan could not have a son or a brother that was closer to him athletically than Jarvin Landry.”
Consider:
* Boldin
“performed terribly” at the 2003 combine, running a 4.72-second 40-yard dash. That time was the slowest among the 23 wide receivers that ran. Boldin ran a 4.59 at his pro day. (
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/2003/draft/players/6726.html)
* Landry had an
“awful” performance at the combine, running a 4.65-second 40-yard dash. That time was the slowest among the 48 receivers that ran. Landry ran a 4.51 at his pro day.
* Boldin, who measured 6-0 ½ and 216 pounds, lacks ideal height.
* Landry, who measured 5-11 ½ and 205 pounds, lacks ideal height.
* Before declaring early for the draft, Boldin had huge production against elite competition in his final college season. The numbers: 65 catches, 1,011 yards, 13 touchdowns.
* Before declaring early for the NFL draft, Landry had huge production against elite competition in his final college season. The numbers: 77 catches, 1,193 yards, 10 touchdowns.
* Partly based on his combine performance, Boldin slipped to the second round. He was the No. 54 pick in 2003.
* Partly based on his combine performance, Landry is expected to be second-round pick. In his latest mock draft, ESPN’s Mel Kiper has Landry being selected No. 59 overall.
It’s possible Landry, who is also an eager and capable downfield blocker (sound familiar?), could still be available when the 49ers use their two second-round picks, No. 56 and 61. They also have the No. 30 pick, but it’s no certainty they will use it on a wideout: Cornerback is a possibility, as is a pass-rushing outside linebacker given Aldon Smith’s latest arrest and muddled long-term future with the team.
Because of his speed, Landry lacks the sizzle of some of the slam-dunk first-rounders in what’s viewed as a potentially historically deep wide receivers class. That group that includes his electric LSU teammate, Odell Beckham Jr.
As a possession receiver, however, he could fill a future void for the 49ers. Boldin, who will turn 34 in October is signed through 2015 and Michael Crabtree is entering the final year of his contract.
In February, before the combine, NFL network analyst Mike Mayock said he would “sprint to the podium” if Landry was available early in the second round. In his latest position rankings – released after the combine – Mayock ranks Landry fifth among wideouts, tied with presumptive first-rounders in Beckham and Florida State’s Kelvin Benjamin.
“One of my favorite players in the draft is Jarvis Landry,” Mayock said before the combine. “And when I look at those two (LSU) wide receivers, Landry, to me, with his toughness and ability to play inside or outside reminds me a little bit of (former Steelers WR) Hines Ward. He’s one of the physically toughest players in this draft, for any position. He catches everything. He’s the kind of guy I’d like to have as a teammate.”
Toughness? Perhaps Landry’s first highlight play at LSU came on special teams. As a freshman, he put a huge hit on Auburn kickoff returner Antonio McCalebb. The high-decibel impact, Detillier said, made it sound as if Landry was “wielding a metal bat.”
Detillier even saw some of Landry’s games at perennially powerful Lutcher (La.) High, where his cousin, Tim Detillier, is the longtime head coach. Detillier said his cousin won’t engage in the-best-player-he’s-coached discussions, but does acknowledge Landry is tops in one area that, again, echoes Boldin.
“The one thing he would tell me: He said ‘Jarvis is the most competitive person I’ve ever been around. There is no one that will outwork him and outhustle him at anything,’” Detillier said. “And I saw plenty of that. He is fearless coming across the middle and he really is as competitive a guy as you will ever see.
“Now is he 6-3? No. Is he a guy I want anchoring my 4×400 relay team. No. But on 4th-and-7 he’s the guy I want to throw the football to because he’ll get eight yards. Like Boldin, he doesn’t test through the roof. Who cares? He’s just a tremendous football player.”
Dude is not agile at all
there's a lot to like about the prospects to pick from this year.
