AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith
The list of NFL teams in need of help at wide receiver dwindled a bit more Friday with the signing of Jarvis Landry.
Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network was the first to report that Landry signed with the New Orleans Saints, and the news was later confirmed by Landry himself:
New Orleans entered the offseason with massive holes at wideout, but with Michael Thomas set to return after missing the entire 2021 season because of injury, along with the signing of Landry and the selection of Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, the Saints appear set at the position.
Landry’s signing took a big name off the wide receiver free-agent market, leaving veterans Julio Jones and T.Y. Hilton as arguably the two best players still available at the position.
Jones, 33, hit free agency in March when he was released by the Tennessee Titans. Jones spent just one injury-plagued season in Tennessee after 10 fruitful seasons with the Atlanta Falcons.
He has a case to be a Pro Football Hall of Famer one day with seven Pro Bowls and two first-team All-Pro selections to his credit, as well as 879 receptions for 13,330 yards and 61 touchdowns.
The 32-year-old Hilton has spent his entire 10-year NFL career with the Indianapolis Colts. Like Jones, he dealt with injuries last season and was limited to just 23 receptions for 331 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games.
Hilton is a four-time Pro Bowler, however, and has racked up 631 catches for 9,691 yards and 53 touchdowns in 143 career regular-season games.
Jones and Hilton are both getting up there in age and have dealt with injuries in recent years, but either could be a nice value signing for a receiver-needy team.
It seems likely that Jones and Hilton will be pursued by the same teams since they are similar in that they are both veteran guys with the ability to make plays down the field.
There is perhaps no team in the NFL in greater need of a veteran wideout than the Baltimore Ravens, especially after trading Marquise “Hollywood” Brown to the Arizona Cardinals for a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft.
Brown’s departure leaves 2021 first-round pick Rashod Bateman as Baltimore’s clear No. 1 wideout, and there are nothing but unproven options behind him, including Devin Duvernay, Tylan Wallace and James Proche.
A No. 2 wideout in Baltimore’s run-heavy offense may not see a ton of targets, but quarterback Lamar Jackson needs another reliable option outside of Bateman and tight end Mark Andrews, and either Jones or Hilton would fit the bill.
Although they selected two wide receivers in the draft, the Green Bay Packers also stand out as a team in need of a wideout after trading Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The top holdovers at wide receiver for Green Bay are Randall Cobb, Allen Lazard and second-year man Amari Rodgers, who did little as a rookie. The Packers also signed Sammy Watkins and drafted Christian Watson in the second round and Romeo Doubs in the fourth round.
The receiver room is crowded in Green Bay, but quarterback Aaron Rodgers is short on proven options, which could make Jones or Hilton a nice addition.
An under-the-radar team to consider in terms of adding receiver help is the Dallas Cowboys, who cut Amari Cooper and lost Cedrick Wilson in free agency.
The Cowboys are returning CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup, but James Washington is penciled in as the WR3 after disappointing for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Dallas did take Jalen Tolbert in the third round of the draft, but adding another experienced wide receiver could be wise considering the Cowboys run a high-volume passing offense powered by quarterback Dak Prescott.
It also isn’t outside the realm of possibility that Jones could return to the Falcons or Titans, or Hilton could return to the Colts since none of those teams have ideal wide receiver situations, but all of them took a wideout in the first two rounds, so they may not be openly searching for a vet.
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