Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Excitement was abundant for fans of the Miami Dolphins when former Louisville wide receiver DeVante Parker fell to the team in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. That excitement increased when Parker performed well at the Dolphins’ OTAs. Just like the Dolphins’ on-field play the past couple of seasons, early enthusiasm eventually turned into disappointment. It was revealed on Friday that Parker had surgery to fix a screw in his left foot. While this turn of events seems dooming to the Dolphins’ offense, it may not be as bad as fans may think.
Despite being the team’s top pick, Parker was never really considered the No. 1 receiver heading into training camp. In fact, Parker isn’t even No. 2 or No. 3 The Dolphins have last season’s rookie sensation Jarvis Landry and newly acquired Kenny Stills are definitely at the top of the receiver food chain. Shortly before the draft Miami addressed its need for a veteran pass catcher and signed Greg Jennings. Thanks to Jennings’ past relationship with head coach Joe Philbin in Green Bay and his ability to make young quarterbacks better than they are, Jennings was going to see the field a ton in 2015.
At best, Parker was going to be the fourth option in the receiver rotation. Early prognosis is that Parker should be back on the field by at least the third game of the exhibition schedule. Even if he misses the preseason completely, he is still expected to open the regular season on the active roster. There is no talk of any injured reserve designation at this time.
Now there are certainly some drawbacks to Parker’s pending convalescence. For starters, he was seemingly snagging every ball tossed his way at the OTAs. It is rotten that he is going to lose the momentum of those magical moments. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill is going to have enough trouble trying to form chemistry with newcomers Stills and Jennings, let alone losing valuable bonding time with the rookie. With Parker, the Dolphins were four strong on the receiver depth chart.
Without the ex-Cardinal catcher, Miami will be scrambling to find depth just in case something turns foul with Parker’s foot. After the top quartet of receivers, Miami has longtime backup Rishard Matthews and second-year wideout Matt Hazel waiting in the wings. Another OTA standout and somebody to keep an eye on in training camp is LaRon Byrd who has bounced around the league since 2012.
There have been a myriad of first-year receivers who have made an instant impact on their teams lately. The thought of Parker becoming another one was certainly exhilarating a few weeks ago, but realistically he would have had to have been superhuman or the beneficiary of an injury to another player to get enough starting time to put up jaw-dropping numbers. So settle down Dolphins fans, Parker’s surgery will neither threaten the club’s season nor put a damper on any playoff hopes.
