Patriots player profile: Harold Landry offers three-down potential on defense

Previewing the Patriots edge heading into his first season in New England.

The New England Patriots entered their 2024 training camp seemingly in good shape along their defensive edge. Midway through the season, the group’s outlook had changed drastically: Anfernee Jennings was still around as a starter, but none of the other top four at the position — Matthew Judon (traded), Joshua Uche (traded), Oshane Ximines (ACL tear) — were available anymore.

Heading into 2025 and with a new coaching staff in place, it was therefore time for change. One of the first shoes to drop was signing free agent Harold Landry.

Hard facts

Name: Harold Landry III

Position: Defensive edge/Outside linebacker

Jersey number: 2

Opening day age: 29 (6/5/1996)

Measurements: 6’2 3/8”, 252 lbs, 78 7/8” wingspan, 32 7/8” arm length, 9 3/8” hand size, 4.64s 40-yard dash, 6.88s 3-cone drill, 4.19s short shuttle, 36” vertical jump, 9’11” broad jump, 24 bench press reps, 9.47 Relative Athletic Score

Experience

NFL: Tennessee Titans (2018-24), England Patriots (2025-) | College: Boston College (2014-17)

A three-star recruit out of Pine Forest High School in his hometown of Fayetteville, NC, Landry decided to take his talents to Boston College. A backup as a true freshman, he became a fixture along the team’s defensive line from his 2015 sophomore campaign on and was twice named All-ACC (second team 2016, third team 2017). In total, he amassed 158 tackles, 48 tackles for loss, 25 sacks and 10 forced fumbles during his four seasons as an Eagle.

His productivity at BC made Landry a popular target in the 2018 NFL Draft, and he was eventually selected 41st overall by the Titans. As a rookie, he was used on a rotational basis but — just like in college — took his game to a new level from Year 2 on. Capable as a pass rusher and a run defender, Landry registered 256 tackles, 31 sacks and a trio of forced fumbles in his first four years as a pro; he also was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2021.

The Titans subsequently signed him to a five-year, $87.5 million contract extension, but he suffered a torn ACL in practice less than six months after putting pen to paper. Despite missing the entire 2022 campaign as a consequence, Landry returned as a high-quality player the following year. In his two seasons since, he added 141 tackles and 19.5 sacks to his career totals. Nonetheless, Tennessee decided to release him in March 2025 after unsuccessfully trying to trade him.

Five days after his release, Landry signed a three-year, $43.5 million free agency deal in New England to reunite with his former head coach, Mike Vrabel.

Scouting report

Strengths: An experience player with a track record of proven production against NFL competition, Landry offers impressive durability on the edge even after missing all of 2022 due to injury. He also provides a versatile skillset, and has played quality football against the run while also being productive as a pass rusher.

His burst and naturally aggressive approach are two of his best assets, and stand out particularly in the running game. Landry is quick out of his stance and puts offensive linemen on the defensive from the get-go. He also is not easily caught up in trap or pull traffic while being patient and experienced enough to read his keys and let misdirection plays develop instead of overcommitting. He shows urgency on backside pursuit and is a sound, wrap-up tackler.

As a pass rusher, Landry shows explosivity and bend while also successfully turning speed into power. He has a full arsenal off pass rush moves and counters, and also has shown good chemistry with his fellow linemen on line games; his lower-body flexibility and change of direction allow him to be used on stunts and twists. He additionally is a good finisher with a high pressure-to-sack rate.

Weaknesses: Landry is undersized by traditional standards, ranking in the bottom-quartile percentiles in height (18), weight (21), arm length (25) and hand size (19) while barely clearing that hurdle in terms of his wingspan (28). He has shown that he can work around those limitations, but it will be seen whether or not they will pose problems as he gets up there in age.

As for his game, Landry is coming off an inconsistent season as a pass rusher. Producing a career-low 30 pressures and a pressure rate of 7.1 percent, he was up and down going after opposing quarterbacks. His bend was uneven and his counter moves at times ineffective. He also was unable to register many quick wins, and instead posted a “time to pressure” of 3.11 seconds, according to Next Gen Stats — slowest in his career.

2024 review

Stats: 17 games (17 starts) | 880 defensive snaps (83.3%), 3 special teams snaps (0.7%) | 71 tackles, 4 missed tackles (5.3%) | 30 quarterback pressures (9 sacks, 6 hits, 15 hurries) | 6 targets, 6 catches surrendered (100%), 64 yards | 1 penalty

Season recap: Two years removed from his aforementioned ACL tear, Landry was set to return to the full-time starting role he did not hold in 2024. That is precisely what happened, leading to an increase in playing time share: after playing 73.1 percent in his first post-injury season — still a fairly high output considering the circumstances but a notable drop-off nonetheless — the number jumped to 83.3 or 880 snaps.

In those snaps, Landry proved himself the most productive of Tennessee’s pass rushers in terms of quarterback takedowns: his 9.0 sacks ranked first on the team, even though his total number of pressures (30) ranked only third behind Jefferey Simmons (45) and Arden Key (39).

Landry did get home fairly regularly, but he failed to provide consistent pressure in his 423 charted pass rush snaps. As noted above, his pressure rate of 7.1 percent was the worst of his career and he ranked 108th among NFL edge rushers in pass rush effectiveness — all that while primarily going up against opposing right tackles.

Where Landry did shine, meanwhile, was his run defense. He had 52 tackles in the run game, including 7 for a loss of yardage.

In total, Landry did have another productive season but ran particularly hot and cold as a pass rusher. Given his decline in that area, it was no surprise Tennessee made him available for trade after the 2024 season. It was equally unsurprising that no team was willing to pick up a player carrying a $17.5 million base salary into 2025.

Landry was released after seven seasons and a combined 103 regular season and playoff games in March.

2025 preview

Position: Three-down starting ED | Ability: Quality starter | Contract: Signed through 2027

What will be his role? Landry has been an edge throughout his career, and nothing is expected to change heading into the Patriots chapter of his career. As such, he will line up primarily from the 5-technique position over the tackle’s outside shoulder out. He projects as a three-down, starter-level player for New England, even though he might be used more rotationally on late downs considering the presence of pass rush specialists K’Lavon Chaisson and Bradyn Swinson.

What is his growth potential? Entering his age 29 season and with his season-ending ACL tear firmly in the rear-view mirror, it seems there is little room for growth when it comes to Landry. Returning to working under head coach Mike Vrabel and defensive coordinator Terrell Williams might help him bounce back from what was at times an inconsistent 2024 campaign, though.

Does he have positional versatility? Landry has played various defensive line techniques through his career, and as noted above provides run/pass flexibility. One area to watch, though, will be his alignment splits between the left or right side of the defense: he had an almost even 50:50 split during his last pre-ACL tear season in 2021, but has since lined up mostly over the opponent’s right amassing a 92:8 split over the last two seasons.

What is his salary cap situation? As part of his three-year deal, Landry is carrying a cap hit of $8.5 million into the 2025 season. It includes a fully-guaranteed $3 million salary and $4 million signing bonus as well as a likely-to-be-earned $1.275 million roster bonus and $225,000 workout bonus. In addition, Landry can earn up to $1.5 million in incentives that are considered not likely to be earned and therefore currently not counting versus the Patriots’ cap.

How safe is his roster spot? Considering the investment the Patriots made in Landry in March, he is locked into a roster spot heading into 2025. Furthermore, he is the only established three-down edge defender currently on New England’s roster.

Summary: Landry may not have been the flashiest of free agency signings this offseason, and has seemingly taken a step back from the Pro Bowl form he showed in 2021. That being said, he is a quality player who should provide the stability on the edge New England was sorely missing last year. And — who knows? — a change of scenery might revitalize the soon-to-be 29-year-old.

What do you think about Harold Landry heading into the 2025 season? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.