Browns quick hits: Why 2021 could be Jarvis Landry's best season in Cleveland yet

BEREA — After spinning off multiple defenders and hurdling another, Jarvis Landry looks like he's capable of having his best Browns season yet.

A five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, Landry got off to a hot start this season, albeit in Sunday's 33-29 loss to the two-time defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs. He had five catches on five targets for 71 yards and rushed twice for 13 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

“I would take 11 Jarvises out there,” Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said Thursday. “He's a pro's pro. He is as tough as they come, and he generally gets us sparks. If we need something to get going, we try to find a way to get Juice involved because we know he's going to make it happen.”

When training camp kicked off July 28, Landry said he felt great mentally and physically after 2020 proved to be the most challenging season of his NFL career.

He played with a hip injury throughout the 2019 season and had surgery in February 2020. Last year, he didn't feel quite like himself following an offseason of rehabilitation, and he also suffered a broken rib Oct. 11 against the Indianapolis Colts.

In July, the 5-foot-11 Landry also revealed in his YouTube series “Just Juice” he weighed 212 or 213 pounds when last season ended. The Browns list him as 196 pounds, which he said is his lowest playing weight since his second or third professional season in 2015 or 2016 with the Miami Dolphins.

Asked Thursday whether his good health allowed him to hurdle Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill during a 9-yard reception along the Browns sidelined early in the fourth quarter at Arrowhead Stadium, Landry said, “Yeah, that’s definitely part of it.”

Although Landry made it clear he believes he could have pulled off the move the past two seasons, it might not have felt as easy or smooth then as it did Sunday.

“Jarvis looks extremely well right now,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “He's moving around great. Mentally, he's such a leader for us — the team as a whole, not just the offense. The way he carries himself, plays and that physical presence, he's a physical guy. He's not the biggest guy, but he lays his body on the line. He has done a great job of putting himself in a position to have a great year.”

Early in the second quarter Sunday, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski turned to Landry on fourth-and-1 from the Chiefs 5-yard line. He took a handoff from Mayfield on a jet sweep, broke Thornhill's would-be tackle, spun off safety Daniel Sorensen and spun past cornerback L'Jarius Sneed as the ball broke the plane of the goal line for a touchdown with 13:28 left in the second quarter.

“The run on the sweep for the touchdown, I don't know if many guys are going to be able to do that,” Van Pelt said. “But his toughness he brings, his leadership and his love for the game, it's infectious.

“From Jarvis, you never know what you're going to get. I know he's going to do everything he can in his power to get into that end zone.”

Mayfield called the play “a grown-man run.” Landry said he channeled New Orleans Saints four-time Pro Bowl running back Alvin Kamara.

“That's just determination and wanting it more than the other guys,” Mayfield said. “You can tell that fires guys up. That's what I told [Landry]. When he plays like that, it elevates everybody around us.”

“I think he spun like three times to get in there, but that’s just Jarvis,” left guard Joel Bitonio added. “He’s tough, and he’s going to get that extra inch when he needs it.”

In the three full regular seasons since former Browns General Manager John Dorsey acquired Landry in 2018 via a trade with the Miami Dolphins, the former 2014 second-round draft pick from Louisiana State University has racked up 81 catches on 149 targets for 976 yards and four touchdowns in 2018, 83 catches on 138 targets for 1,174 yards and six TDs in 2019 and 72 catches on 101 targets for 840 yards and three TDs in 2020.

Landry, who will turn 29 on Nov. 28, has been really good for the Browns. But don't be surprised if he is more efficient for them this season than ever before.

'It's contagious': Jarvis Landry's 97-second speech helped launch Browns' culture change

Receiver Odell Beckham Jr. wants to be back in action with Cleveland Browns

An unfortunate twist for Landry is the health of his close friend and fellow Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has yet to reach a level at which OBJ is comfortable playing.

Beckham sat out the opener in Kansas City because he “worked out before the game and didn't feel like he could go a significant amount, so we felt like it was the right thing to do to keep him inactive,” Stefanski said after the Week 1 loss.

Then on Wednesday, Stefanski ruled out Beckham for the home opener between the Browns (0-1) and Houston Texans (1-0) at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Beckham continued to practice Thursday on a limited basis. He is coming back from the torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered in his left knee Oct. 25 against the Cincinnati Bengals. He had surgery Nov. 10.

“His situation, honestly, is really between him and coach and the training staff in there and his camp about how they’re handling things,” Landry said. “I think the most important thing is that he’s continuing to get healthy, and when he’s comfortable enough he’ll be out there.

“He’s a true competitor, so anytime the ball is out there and the whistle blows and it’s time for a play to go, obviously he wants to be out there. There’s no doubt in anybody’s mind in this building that he wants to be able to be out there, but that’s situation with coach and the training staff and how they handle it.”

Akron's Whitney Mercilus returns as second longest-tenured Texans player

Landry is eager to reunite with a bevy of Browns players who are now members of the Texans, including cornerback Terrance Mitchell, who signed with Houston in March.

Landry seemed to allude to the fight he had with Mitchell during Browns training camp in 2018.

“It’s going to be great to see T-Mitch, I’m sure,” Landry said. “We’ve had our battles for a long time here on these practice fields.”

But another Texans defender with a Northeast Ohio connection is defensive end Whitney Mercilus, an Akron native and Garfield High School graduate.

Mercilus is in his 10th NFL season, and he's the longest-tenured Texans player aside from long snapper Jon Weeks. The Texans drafted Mercilus in the first round (26th overall) in 2012 out of the University of Illinois. They have employed Weeks since they signed him in 2010 as an undrafted rookie free agent.

Mercilus has started 101 of the 129 career regular-season games in which he has appeared and has 348 tackles with 55 sacks, 113 quarterback hits, two interceptions, seven passes defensed, 13 forced fumbles and nine fumble recoveries. He had a career-high 12 sacks in 2015.

“He’s been a really good player for them,” said Bitonio, the longest-tenured Browns player. “When they had him and J.J. [Watt] and [Jadeveon] Clowney there, it was a three-headed monster of guys that could rush the quarterback, and they kind of lined them up everywhere and let them pick and choose.

“It just shows how consistent [Mercilus] is as a player. Every week he brings the same energy, and he’s a good pass rusher. He holds in there, and he makes plays. But he’s doing a little bit different this year. He’s in a three-point stance. He’s usually [been] a stand-up outside linebacker [in the past]. I think the defense feeds off his leadership.”

Cleveland Browns kicker Chase McLaughlin passed test

Browns kicker Chase McLaughlin surfaced on the injury report late last week with a right hamstring injury and had been listed as questionable to face the Chiefs.

But McLaughlin worked out at Arrowhead Stadium before the game and convinced the Browns he could play. He went 3-for-3 on extra points.

“I think he just had a little tweak," Browns special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said. "He went in there and said, ‘Hey, look, I need some extra treatment.’ The next thing you know, he's getting an MRI, and we were bringing up Chris [Naggar from the practice squad Saturday]. We did that obviously to protect ourselves on game day. I don't know if you guys know this, we went out about two hours before the game, and he kicked maybe six to seven field goals and a couple of kickoffs and said he was fine.”

“It showed me that he's a mentally tough kid. I like Chase. He did a good job. He kicked off well for us. He made his PATs that he needed to make. He's a mentally tough kid. He kicked well yesterday and will kick again tomorrow, and we're off and running for Sunday.”

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com.