The year is 2013.
You walk through your respective portal at Tiger Stadium and you know almost exactly what to expect from the LSU Football team. A solid defense, great special teams play, but most importantly, wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry to put on a show.
The tandem were as exciting a pair of receivers that LSU has ever had, being the only two receivers in LSU history to have over 1,000 receiving yards in the same season.
Even more impressive was the fact that going into each game, the Tigers’ opponents knew that Landry and Beckham Jr. were the only receiving threats on the team. The player with the most catches in 2013 besides Landry and Beckham Jr. was running back Jeremy Hill, who had 18 catches on the season.
And yet the duo continually torched opposing secondaries with aplomb. The most memorable game for the receivers had to be when LSU traveled to Athens in 2013 to take on No. 9 Georgia. The game was one for the ages, with a rare, yet poor defensive performance from both teams, as they combined for 85 points.
Landry led the team in yards and receptions with 10 catches for 156 yards and a touchdown. Beckham Jr. was close behind with six catches for 118 yards.
Both players were drafted in the 2014 NFL Draft, and have been as good, if not better, than they were at LSU. Beckham Jr. is a three-time Pro Bowler, two-time Second-team All-Pro and the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2014. Landry is a four-time Pro Bowler, was the NFL receptions leader in 2017 and along with Beckham Jr. on the Pro Football Writers Association’s All-Rookie Team.
Beckham Jr. has already amassed 5,476 receiving yards and 44 touchdowns on 390 catches in just 59 games, while Landry has 481 receptions for 5,014 receiving yards.
And now, they will be teammates once again after the New York Giants traded Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns, where Landry will be starting his second season with following a four-year stint with the Miami Dolphins.
And for both, it’s something they’ve both dreamed about.
In an interview during the preseason of 2018, Landry was asked if his requests to the front office of Cleveland to go after Beckham Jr. were real, and Landry was candid about it.
“We want to make this a reality… and I think at the end of the day, especially with O, [Odell] I just want to see him happy,” Landry said. “I just want to see him get what he deserves. That means the most to me, no matter where it’s at, but I hope its here.”
In an article from USA Today that was written prior to the 2014 NFL Draft, Beckham Jr. was not shy about his want to team up with Landry again in the NFL.
“I would love for us to end up on the same team somehow. I’m praying for it,” Beckham Jr. said.
And Beckham Jr.’s prayers were answered, as the two will almost certainly start alongside of each other for the first time since 2013.
The ceiling for Landry and Beckham Jr. should almost be infinite. It surely is not out of the realm of possibility that the duo could each have 1,000 yards receiving in their first season together just as they did for LSU.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield will be entering his second season as the starter following a stellar rookie campaign. If he can build a rapport with Landry and Beckham Jr. similar to what former LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger had, there’s no question that the trio can be extremely effective.
