Dawan Frank Landry (born December 30, 1982) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

in the fifth round of the

2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

College career

While at Georgia Tech, he majored in

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. Dawan was a quarterback at Hahnville High School; he originally was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

to play

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

in college but changed positions. Dawan, in four years, had 250 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 7 interceptions, and four fumble recoveries. The most notable performance of Dawan's career was against Auburn in 2005 when he accumulated 10 tackles and an interception to help defeat the Tigers at

Jordan–Hare Stadium Pat Dye Field at Jordan–Hare Stadium (properly pronounced as ) is an American football stadium in Auburn, Alabama on the campus of Auburn University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Auburn Tigers football, Auburn Tigers football ...

24–13.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

The

selected Landry in the fifth round (146th overall) in the

. Landry was the 14th safety drafted in 2006. On July 21, 2006, the Baltimore Ravens signed Landry to a three-year, $1.20 million contract that included a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $129,000. Throughout training camp, Landry competed to be the starting free safety against Gerome Sapp, Jamaine Winborne, B.J. Ward, and Robb Butler. Head coach Brian Billick opted to move Ed Reed to free safety and named Landry the starting strong safety to begin the regular season. Dawan's rookie season for the

saw him earn a starting spot in the defensive secondary alongside fellow safety

Ed Reed Edward Earl Reed Jr. (born September 11, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL), spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Ravens. He played college footbal ...

. Dawan had a stellar rookie season, standing out on the league's #1 ranked Defense by collecting 69 tackles, 3 sacks, 6 passes defensed, and 5 interceptions for 101 yards and one touchdown. Landry's season earned him one vote for AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, making him only one of seven players to earn a vote. In January, 2007, Landry was voted to the ''

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'' PFWA All-Rookie Team as a starting defensive safety as well as Rick Gosselin's All-Rookie team as featured in ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

''. In his second season with the Ravens, 2007, he finished the campaign with 82 tackles, 1 sack, and 6 passes defensed, having the third most tackles on the defense, behind Bart Scott and

Ray Lewis Raymond Anthony Lewis Jr. (born May 15, 1975) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 17-year career as a linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football f ...

. His third season in 2008 got off to a promising start, recording 11 tackles in the first two games of the season. However, in the second game, against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

, he suffered what could have been a career-ending spinal concussion injury, tackling former Baltimore Raven Jamal Lewis. He was later judged to be okay, but his season was ended, as he was replaced by backup

Jim Leonhard James Andrew Leonhard (born October 27, 1982) is an American professional American football, football coach and former player who is the defensive pass game coordinator and assistant head coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football Le ...

. He would miss out, as the Ravens would go on to advance to the AFC Championship. Landryjags

In the 2009 offseason, he got himself back in game shape, and was read to take back his starting job. By all accounts, he enjoyed a successful comeback, posting career highs in tackles with 89, and passes defensed with 8. He also led the team in interceptions with four, returning one for a 48-yard touchdown against the

, avenging his injury. He continued his impressive play in 2010, recording 111 tackles, along with one sack and a forced fumble. In a game against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

, fellow safety

caught an interception, which he then lateraled to Landry, with Dawan taking it 23 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Not only did he top his season best tackle count, with 111, but in the last two seasons he was second on the team in tackles, behind only

Jacksonville Jaguars

Landry agreed to terms on a five-year contract with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

on July 29, 2011. He finished his first season as a Jaguar with 97 tackles, two interceptions, one forced fumble, and half a sack. On November 16, 2012, Landry was fined $10,000 for a late hit against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

in Week 10. On March 8, 2013, Landry was released by the Jaguars.

New York Jets

The

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

signed Landry on April 9, 2013.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Landry from Ama, Louisiana, is the older brother of former

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

All-American safety LaRon Landry, who was selected by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

in the first round of the

2007 NFL draft The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draf ...

References

External links

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets bio

New York Jets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landry, Dawan 1982 births Living people People from Ama, Louisiana Players of American football from St. Charles Parish, Louisiana American football safeties Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players Baltimore Ravens players Jacksonville Jaguars players New York Jets players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen