It’s hard to imagine that a young, three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver would trade the sunny, tax-free beaches of Miami for the greyscale landscape of Lake Erie. At least willingly, anyway. Alas, it’s becoming apparent that the Dolphins organization and Jarvis Landry are far apart on an extension, meaning it’s likely the receiver will hit the open market this offseason.

And the Browns, by virtue of their sizable war chest, are in a position to outbid just about any team for just about any player’s services. But the new regime in Cleveland should stay far away from Landry if they know what’s good for them.

It may sound odd that a receiver-needy team replete with cash should avoid the NFL’s reigning receptions leader, but there’s more than meets the eye with Landry. His volume stats are gaudy, but the tape doesn’t show a receiver worth $12 million-plus annually.

Landry is the football equivalent of foie gras. He was force-fed in Miami and is a rich delicacy few can afford. And if he’s the main course, you’ll probably be left wanting.

Let’s set aside the box score, which indicates he has not consistently been a touchdown-maker in his career, and instead evaluate how he’s earned his considerable production.

Landry does several things well. First and foremost, he’s an excellent catcher of the football. In the games I watched — his 2017 contests against the Chargers, Falcons, Ravens, Buccaneers, Broncos, and Bills (on the road) — he made some sensational catches. He tracks the ball very well, is a natural hands catcher, and can effortlessly adjust outside his frame to reel passes in, sometimes with just one hand. To put it succinctly, he’s got a pair of paws on him. Furthermore, he does a solid job of making site adjustments and locating soft spots in zone coverage

He’s also a good threat with the ball in his hands. While not the most athletic runner, he demonstrates impressive vision and awareness of where pursuit is coming from and uses good footwork to set up his jukes.

Unfortunately, he’s a marginal athlete and that severely limits his game. He struggles to release against press because he doesn’t have the quickness to get cornerbacks off-kilter. Nor does he possess the strength to fight through jams. His routes lack suddenness out of the stem and he often has to gear down into his breaks. And when he does generate separation, cornerbacks with baseline recovery athleticism can work back into him to create small throwing windows and challenge him at the catch point. In that regard, he could stand to improve his ability to shield the ball from defenders.

Play speed is another major problem for Landry. He was seldom asked to work vertically, and with good reason. He’s a tight strider who struggles to eat up cushion and will not consistently threaten a defense deep, which confines him to the short and intermediate areas.

In evaluating Landry’s film, you’ll see his bloated production came as a result of his usage. He was almost used as a running back in respects, considering most of his receptions came on 1- to 3-step stems (drags, slants, flats, etc.) and screens. Miami’s game against Denver is a perfect example of this. He recorded five catches for 62 yards against a deep and talented cornerback group, but he was not beating corners in man-to-man in doing so. One catch came on a pick play, another came on a drag route against off coverage, and so on, and so on. This observation can be reaffirmed by NFL’s Next Gen Stats. Landry’s average targeted air yards of 6.4 yards ranked among the shallowest in the league.

It is in this regard that I don’t see Landry as being worthy of WR1 money. Ideally, your number one option should be an athletic player able to consistently beat good CB1s in man-to-man in all three areas of the field. It’s an added bonus if they command dedicated safety help or double teams. Landry checks none of those boxes, but he does have complementary value as a sure-handed slot who can probe the short and intermediate areas. There are plenty of players in the league who can fill that role, but at $12M-plus? That’s too rich for my blood. His ability to produce at such a high level with basement-level athletic traits is respectable, and that alchemy will almost certainly earn him a payday. Let’s just hope it’s not with the Browns.