The New Orleans Saints were a lowly 32nd in passing production during the 2021 season. Part of those struggles was because of a season-ending knee injury to QB Jameis Winston, forcing the team to start four different quarterbacks during the year. Another issue was the glaring lack of weapons at wide receiver.
Preseason surgery to All-Pro WR Michael Thomas knocked him out for the entire 2021 season. Marquez Callaway and Deonte Harty had some nice moments out of the mediocre group that remained. Callaway led the team with 698 yards on 46 receptions. It was the lowest season total for a New Orleans team leader since 1986.
The Saints thought they had fixed their wideout problem in the offseason. They were getting Thomas back, but also used the Number 11 overall draft choice on Ohio State WR Chris Olave. Then, two weeks after the draft, they appeared to make another huge addition when they signed former LSU star and five-time Pro Bowl receiver Jarvis Landry.
On paper, New Orleans looked like they went from one of the NFL's worst receiving corps to one of it's best in the span of a year. Reality told a different story.
Jarvis Landry
Saints Year-In-Review
Landry was a second-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. Over his first seven years with the Dolphins (2014-2017) and Cleveland Browns (2018-2020), he had at least 80 receptions and over 800 yards six times, including three 1,000-yard campaigns.
Despite an injury-plagued 2021 with the Browns, Landry's addition created excitement among most Saints fans as a possession receiver with proven production. His presence, along with the return of Thomas and addition of Olave, was expected to give the team a far more explosive attack.
Like the rest of the New Orleans passing attack, Landry started the year on fire in a season-opening win at Atlanta. He led all receivers with 7 catches and 114 yards on the day, helping to spark a historic fourth quarter comeback.
Landry's production severely dipped after that terrific opening week. He caught six passes for 47 yards in the next two games and injured his ankle during a Week 3 loss to Carolina. He'd hobble through the injury the next week against Minnesota, pulling in two catches for 7 yards plus a 2-point conversion. After that he'd be sidelined for the next five contests.
Landry returned in Week 10 at Pittsburgh, but was still clearly limited by the ankle. He had just 10 receptions for 104 yards over the next five contests until missing the final three games with the injury.
The 30-year-old Landry had 25 receptions for 272 yards and one touchdown in nine games for New Orleans. He had just 18 catches for 158 yards came after the big opening day against the Falcons.
The ankle injury clearly hampered Landry most of the year. However, he also struggled to get separation from defensive backs even early in the season. Without Thomas, lost for the year in Week 3, and a declining Landry, the New Orleans passing game again struggled.
Only Olave’s big rookie campaign plus the emergence of TE Juwan Johnson and undrafted rookie WR Rashid Shaheed kept the offense afloat. They'll be big parts of the New Orleans offense in 2023, but the team has big decisions to make about their two All-Pro veteran wideouts Landry and Thomas.
Signed to a one-year contract last season, Jarvis Landry will be an unrestricted free agent on March 15. It seems unlikely that the Saints will attempt to re-sign him. However, it could still be a possibility with a team-friendly contract if the Saints believe that Landry's struggles were a result of his ankle injury rather than a decline in his abilities.
More must-reads: