Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Parker, Gesicki excited about rookie QB’s potential
Tua Tagovailoa’s personality continues to permeate within the Miami Dolphins organization during his first training camp as an NFL professional.
While Tagovailoa was unable to throw to receiver DeVante Parker and tight end Mike Gesicki when the offense faced the defense during 11-on-11 settings in practice during the first couple days of camp, both leading receivers from a season ago are excited about his potential.
“Tua has been great — great around the building, great on the field,” Gesicki said this week. “He’s really just a kid at 22 years old. He could’ve still been in college, which is crazy when you think about that stuff.
“For him to come in here and really grasp the playbook, grasp the feel of the locker room and then go out there and make plays and put the ball where it needs to be, I’m super excited about his future and all of that kind of stuff,” Gesicki added.
During the first week of padded practices, both Parker and Gesicki have seen more work on offense with veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick, the team’s expected starter, than they have with Tagovailoa.
Both players fostered relationships with Fitzpatrick that led to their breakout campaigns last season.
Gesicki was second on the team in receiving with 51 catches for 570 yards and five touchdowns, all career highs as Miami’s 2017 second-round pick enters his third NFL season.
Parker, the No. 14 pick in the 2015 draft by Miami, was able to live up to his first-round potential for the first time in his career, leading the Dolphins with 72 catches for 1,202 yards and nine touchdowns.
As Tagovailoa navigates his first training camp, learning the new Dolphins offense while working his way back from his hip injury which he sustained last November, the Dolphins hope Parker and Gesicki are able to foster the same on-field chemistry with Tagovailoa that they already have with Fitzpatrick.
“I’ve spent a little time with him and he has pretty good spin on the ball,” Parker said of Tagovailoa.
“He’s got a lot to learn but I can’t wait to see how he comes along in the next couple of years.”
Added Gesicki: “It’s been good to have him in the building and it’s been good to be around him. He’s a really good dude.”