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Greg Jennings Out to Prove He is Not a Football Dinosaur

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Greg Jennings Does Not Want to Become Football Dinosaur

Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

The blockbuster movie Jurassic World hit theaters recently bringing dinosaurs back to life on big screens everywhere. While the Miami Dolphins are in the middle of a youth movement, there is one player on the current roster who is nearing dinosaur age as far as a professional football player goes.

Wide receiver Greg Jennings will be 32 before Week 3 of the 2015 season commences. He will also be counted on to contribute greatly in offensive coordinator Bill Lazor’s system. So is Jennings still capable of playing an important role in an offense, or is he ready to become a relic?

Jennings was a second-round pick of the Green Bay Packers way back in 2006. He put up a pair of Pro Bowl seasons as a Packer, but those came in 2010 and 2011. Last year, he accumulated 742 yards receiving on 59 catches for the Minnesota Vikings. He also snagged six touchdowns. Those aren’t eye-popping statistics, but not horrible either. If Jennings could match those numbers this year, he may earn himself another season in South Beach.

Miami usually likes to run a three-wide receiver set on offense. Newcomer Kenny Stills and second-year stud Jarvis Landry will be the top two catchers in the rotation. Jennings was never expected to unseat either of his two younger teammates, but his status as the No. 3 option was cemented when rookie wideout DeVante Parker had foot surgery last week.

Although Parker should be ready to play in Week 1, he will not be seasoned enough to overtake the veteran from Western Michigan. So while Stills is streaking down the field and Landry is working out of the slot, it will be Jennings who takes over the departed Brian Hartline’s position as safety net for quarterback Ryan Tannehill. All three of Jennings’ receiver mates are under the age of 25. The fifth receiver on the roster, Rishard Matthews, will not be 26 until October. It is important to have Jennings lend his knowledge and savvy to the receiver room everyday.

Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin was one of Jennings’ coaches in Green Bay. That familiarity probably helped lure Jennings to Miami. Philbin witnessed Jennings’ aid in the development of a young Aaron Rodgers in Wisconsin and he saw firsthand how he helped Teddy Bridgewater in Minnesota when Jennings hauled in a touchdown pass against the Dolphins last December. Tannehill has passed the Bridgewater stage of development and now must take it to Rodgers’ level. Hopefully, Jennings can jolt Tannehill’s ascension.

There is plenty of concern, however, that Jennings may not have much left in the tank in 2015. There just aren’t many 32-year-old receivers raking in Pro Bowl invitations anymore. Based on the past couple of receiver classes that have entered the NFL, catching has become a young man’s game. Older “dinosaurs” such as Jennings have been relegated to becoming artifacts in a museum. It may not be fair to place Jennings in the same company as the tyrannosaurus rex or the raptor at this moment, but time is running out on the impact the veteran can make in an offense.

The Dolphins will need Jennings to squeeze out at least one more solid campaign if they want to be among the elite in the AFC. If that happens this season, then instead of Jurassic World, maybe the Miami offense will resemble the Fast and Furious.

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