INDIANAPOLIS – Harold Landry says there is no other rusher here at the NFL Scouting Combine with his first step, his ability to bend around the corner, or his burst to the quarterback.
That certainly appeared to be the case after Landry's junior season at Boston College, a season in which he recorded 22.0 tackles for loss and led the country with 16.5 sacks.
His mission this week at the Combine is to prove his proclamation is still accurate after his numbers dipped to 8.5 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks in an injury-plagued 2017 season.
View photos of the defensive linemen and linebackers meeting the media at the 2018 NFL Combine.
Kansas
North Carolina State
Alabama
Ohio State
Ohio State
Wake Forest
Utah
Toledo
Tulane
UCLA
UTSA
Stephen F. Austin
Mississippi
Virginia
Mississippi
Ball State
Arkansas State
Miami
California
Old Dominion
Arizona State
LSU
Florida State
Boston College
Louisville
North Carolina State
Washington State
Miami
Texas A&M
Alabama
Texas A&M
Tennessee
Florida
Utah
Florida State
North Carolina State
North Carolina State
Georgia
South Carolina
Delaware
Purdue
Washington
South Florida
Alabama
Georgia
Stanford
Miami
Virginia Tech
Fort Hays State
Memphis
North Dakota State
Georgia
Louisville
Auburn
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Indiana
Jacksonville State
Western Kentucky
Memphis
Alabama
Vanderbilt
Washington
Penn State
Texas
Alabama
Georgia
Virginia Tech
Ohio State
UCF
Florida State
Washington
UCLA
BYU
Rutgers
North Carolina
Indiana
South Carolina State
Ohio State
Oklahoma
UCLA
South Carolina
Georgia
Virginia
USC
Michigan
Iowa
Boise State
"I had five sacks in six games and the sixth game of the year my ankle got messed up," Landry said. "I tried playing through it against Louisville the next week and played through it. The next week against Virginia on the first play of the game, I rolled it again and it shut me down."
Landry has many reasons to prove over the next month that the 2016 version of himself is the one teams will be getting in next month's NFL Draft.
The Detroit Lions will be one of those teams evaluating Landry this week, as they could be in the market to add a pass rusher in this draft.
They have a leg up in scouting Landry because defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni was Landry's defensive line coach at Boston College the last two seasons.
"It would be awesome (reuniting with Pasqualoni in Detroit)," Landry said Saturday. "I know his coaching style. I've had success with his coaching style.
"That man is such a great coach. It's ridiculous. He pays so much attention to the small details every single day, that as the days add up, they're going to be able to see the progress in their defense and I think they're going to be a great defense."
Landry says teams have talked to him about playing both as a 3-4 outside linebacker and 4-3 defensive end. He rushed from a two-point stance at BC and with his hand in the dirt. That kind of versatility is a good trait for a defense looking to be multiple.
Depending on how Landry's weekend goes here, and his pro day later this month, he could certainly be a player of interest for the Lions in the first two days of the draft.
