Jarvis Landry signing with the Saints to bolster offense

Former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry, who became a star at LSU, is returning home to Louisiana to play for the New Orleans Saints. 

Long before LSU Tigers rooted for Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase in the Super Bowl, Louisiana football fans were rooting for two Cleveland Browns wide receivers.

That’s because Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry were Tigers before they were Browns. But after four seasons with the Cleveland Browns, Landry became a free agent this NFL offseason — and he’s now chosen to come home to Louisiana to play for the New Orleans Saints.

The 29-year-old Lutcher, Louisiana native grew up along the Mississippi River about an hour north of New Orleans. After eight years in the NFL, he’ll now suit up in black and gold and play in the Caesars Superdome.

Jarvis Landry joins Tyrann Mathieu, New Orleans Saints in celebrated homecoming

Although the hometown allure has enticed many NFL players to sign with the team they cheered on as children, the Saints do not have a storied history of drafting players from their Baton Rouge backyard.

According to Brendan Boylan of the Saints News Network, the Saints only drafted three LSU players from 2000-2020. Until that point, the Saints had only drafted 11 players who were former Tigers.

Safety Tyrann Mathieu and Jarvis Landry won’t change the count on the current list, but these two add a great deal of value to the Saints as they head into a competitive NFC South season. Tom Brady has decided to return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons have rookie quarterbacks in the wings as these franchises attempt to turn things around in their division.

The Saints have seemed to suffer loss after loss, losing legendary head coach Sean Payton a season after losing future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees. The Brees-Payton era in New Orleans is gone, but it’s already giving way to something new: a bonafide LSU Tigers reunion.

Landry is already hyped to play alongside former LSU teammate Tyrann Mathieu, who signed with the Saints on May 4.

Landry bolsters an offense headed by quarterback Jameis Winston, and with Landry, Michael Thomas and lauded rookie Chris Olave, the Saints have suddenly gone from weaponless in 2021 to fully loaded in 2022. If Winston has truly mastered his quarterbacking over the past two years, the NFC South is in for a nightmare offense facilitated by one of the best route-runners in the game.