Tyrann Mathieu is one of the best safeties in the league. And according to him, Jarvis Landry is the toughest receiver to cover in the league, and has been beating him since high school.
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Tyrann Mathieu has cemented himself as a leader on the Chiefs’ defense. And has been instrumental in their success over the last few years. His back to back All-Pro tags are a testament to the same.
Tyrann Mathieu INTs since joining KC:
🔺 2019 – 4
🔺 2020 – 7Honey Badger has led all safeties in each of the last two seasons 🥇 💪 pic.twitter.com/Q1rb4ZGr9g
— PFF (@PFF) February 1, 2021
But even the best of the best have their toughest assignments. And for the Honey Badger, it’s fellow LSU alum, Jarvis Landry.
Jarvis Landry and Tyrann Mathieu have been battling since High School.
In an interview with the Player Tribune, Mathieu opened up about Jarvis Landy and his unreal motor.
“We’ve had so many great players come through Death Valley, and Jarvis is probably one of the most underrated. He does all the dirty work. He runs crossing routes over the middle — the ones most guys don’t want to run. Blocks linebackers. He blocks defensive ends. He’ll crack back. Anything that doesn’t show up in the box score, he’s out there doing it week in and week out.”
Last preseason, Jarvis Landry announced the arrival of the new Dawg Pound with a HUGE block 😮😮 @God_Son80 pic.twitter.com/eSw80y4Dm3
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) August 5, 2019
“And he can still hang 100 yards on you from the slot.”
“When I was in high school, I went to a University of Tennessee football camp — one that all the top recruits went to. Jarvis was there, and it was just me and him going at it in one-on-ones. Nobody else even wanted a part of it. We’d run a play, I’d lock him up, and we’d go right back to the line and do it again — and then he’d get me the next play. All the coaches were gathering around to watch, Frank Wilson, Lane Kiffin and his dad, everybody. The whole camp stopped to watch us go back and forth, play after play, just competing, trying to beat each other.”
“I like to think I won those battles, but I didn’t leave there with a scholarship offer and he did … so maybe he actually did win.”
“But, you know, I really found out what Jarvis was about when he came to LSU.”
“His freshman year, Coach Miles put him on the kickoff team. And you gotta think … Jarvis was a five-star receiver. He didn’t come to LSU to run down on no kickoff team. But instead of complaining, he became probably the best special teams player in the country. He started making every tackle on kickoffs. Fell in love with it. He was getting so crazy that Coach had to take him off because he didn’t want him to get hurt. That’s how violently he was playing on special teams.”
“Sometimes you hear people talk about a guy’s motor. And it’s like, Yeah, O.K. We all got a motor. You can’t make it to the league without one.”
“But Jarvis’s motor is just different. He’s one of the toughest players I’ve ever been around — not just in that he’s difficult to cover, but in the sense that he’s a straight up dog. He’s the kind of guy you hate to play against. But when he’s on your team?”
“Man, you love him.”
