Even though he has been the Tennessee Titans’ best pass rusher for three seasons, Harold Landry doesn’t get the credit he deserves from anyone, including his own fan base.
In 2017 the Titans traded up to second round to draft Harold Landry who tallied 21.5 sacks and 30.5 TFLs in his final two years in college. After a year rotating with Derrick Morgan and Brian Orakpo in their final seasons, Landry got his chance to start in 2018.
Since then he has been a mainstay of the defense and rarely comes off of the field. Despite people saying that he couldn’t be an effective run defender, he has proven that he has the ability to play every down and to do so at a high level.
After an offseason where the Tennessee Titans added blue-chip talent on every level of the defense, Harold Landry is finally in a position to have a box score reflect his actual contribution to the team.
If the Titans want to get ahead of this and lock him down at a reasonable price, they would be smart to look at another player who was drafted in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft, Sam Hubbard.
Why the Tennessee Titans should look at Sam Hubbard
Hubbard just inked a four-year/$40 million extension with the Cincinnati Bengals, which is a reasonable number considering the average price tag of free agent EDGEs.
While the tape says that Harold Landry is a better player than Hubbard, their stats are similar and that creates a good leaping-off point for the Titans and Landry’s agent.
Harold Landry career: 47 games, 113 solo tackles, 44 QB hits, 27 TFLs, 2 FFs, 2 INTs
Sam Hubbard career: 44 games, 106 solo tackles, 33 QB hits, 22 TFLs, 3 FFs, 0 INTs
It doesn’t get much closer than that when it comes to statistical production with the only major outlier being Landry’s QB hits and his interceptions.
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A deal anywhere near $10 million per year would be a great value for the Tennessee Titans, but it probably won’t be that simple. Playing devil’s advocate, OTC’s evaluation says that Harold Landry is worth north of $12 million in AAV which is nearly double their evaluation of Hubbard.
At the end of the day, it is the agent’s job to get the best deal for the player, but the Titans should be running to Landry’s agent right now and get the conversation started. Even if they do end up paying $12 million or more it is hard to imagine a world where Landry is going to be cheaper after this season than he is right now.
As for Landry, getting a new deal with the Titans done before the season means that he can guarantee that he can start accruing his signing bonus as soon as possible in a state with no income tax.
The Tennessee Titans have one of the best rosters in the NFL from top to bottom, and some people are finally starting to realize the work that GM Jon Robinson has done in Tennessee.
Restructures and adjustments can always be made down the line, but getting Harold Landry locked down would mean that the Tennessee Titans would have 9 of their 11 starters on defense (and 17 of their 22 total starters) under contract for the next two seasons or more.
That is ideal for the reigning AFC South Champs who haven’t had a losing season since 2015.