There is suddenly even more pressure on the Miami Dolphins receiving corps to step up in wake of Knowshon Moreno's knee injury. The running back is officially out of the season after suffering an ACL tear, just one game after he returned from having a dislocated elbow that kept him out a few weeks. Now Lamar Miller returns as the starting running back while the wide receivers will be expected to step up their play as well. One person answering the call is rookie Jarvis Landry.
The Miami Dolphins are not winning at the moment. The team sits at 2-3 on the year after falling to the Green Bay Packers in a 27-24 loss where Aaron Rodgers led his team to a comeback win. The lone bright spot for the Dolphins was Landry who had a breakout game of six catches for 75 yards and his first career touchdown. Slowly but surely, Landry is emerging as the star the Dolphins were hoping to get, although the wide receivers says it is not enough if the team is still losing.
"It wasn't enough," Landry said, via ESPN.com. "It means nothing with a loss, as far as my performance goes."
The wide receiver is right about the good game essentially meaning nothing. However, to fantasy owners, the wide receiver just became a long-term pickup before Week 7. Right now, Landry is emerging as a top wide receiver for quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Brandon Gibson continues to sit out with an injured hamstring as Brian Hartline and Mike Wallace are inconsistent at best.
Landry is a sleeper pick against the Chicago Bears. The wide receiver currently sits at No. 2 in the personal depth chart of Tannehill. His targets have increased each week on the field while he works in tandem with Wallace. The Bears have a strong secondary which could challenge both receivers on Sunday, but down the road Landry will be a player to start in the lineup.
The success of Landry could come at the expense of others when the offseason approaches. If the Dolphins' season continues to be much of the same, the team will be looking to make several roster moves in 2015. That could mean multiple things. Wallace's bounce-back season is proving successful, so he would stay. However, Landry could force the likes of Gibson and Hartline out. Both players have had their names tossed in trade rumors before and if Miami can get something better in return, they will make the move.