Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
’Fins hope to catch break with receiver
Team could draft a receiver, but durability issues remain concern for the position
When it comes to the wide receiver position, all the Miami Dolphins can seem to do is hope for the best.
Be hopeful DeVante Parker, who has played in all 16 games just once in five seasons, isn’t bothered by a nagging injury that hampers his effectiveness.
Hope the same for new signee Will Fuller IV and Preston Williams, who have both never played an entire 16-game season in their careers.
The Dolphins receiver room has durability issues that may not be fixed by selecting a new wide receiver in the 2021 NFL draft later this month. It could possibly take multiple drafts or offseasons to address the room in its entirety.
Even if the Dolphins draft talented wide receivers like LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase, Alabama’s DeVonta Smith or Jaylen Waddle, or even Florida tight end Kyle Pitts with the first of two first-round picks (No. 6 and 18), injuries can and likely will occur.
But having talented depth is key to ensuring the Dolphins receiver group does not have to limp toward the end of the season like it did during quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s rookie campaign last year.
When Williams and Parker were sidelined with injuries last
season, the Dolphins depended on rookie slot receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. with backups Jakeem Grant and Mack Hollins on the outside.
The Dolphins even had to re-acquire receiver Isaiah Ford off waivers after trading him to the New England Patriots to sustain their depth.
And that’s after receivers Albert Wilson, who suffered a major hip injury in 2018, and Allen Hurns, who has a history of concussions, both opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns.
In two NFL drafts in the Brian Flores and Chris Grier era in Miami, the Dolphins have not drafted a receiver.
The Dolphins used a second-round pick in 2019 to acquire quarterback Josh Rosen, while standout Seattle Seahawks receiver D.K. Metcalf was on the board. Even with 12 draft picks in 2020, the Dolphins acquired Bowden, a third-round pick, in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders.
If the Dolphins do draft a receiver with their No. 6 pick this year, that player would be the first receiver taken by Miami in the first round since Parker was drafted in 2015.
Parker had 72 catches for 1,202 yards and nine touchdowns during his best season in 2019, and followed it up with 63 catches for 793 yards with four touchdowns in 14 games last year.
Fuller, who missed 22 games in his first four seasons, played in 11 games last season with 53 catches for 879 yards and eight touchdowns (which ranked sixth in the league at the time).
His season was cut short due to a six-game PED suspension, which will cause him to miss the Dolphins’ opener after agreeing to a one-year, $10.6 million deal this offseason.
Williams has coincidentally had his first two NFL seasons cut short after eight games, first with a torn ACL in 2019 and then a broken foot last season.
That is the Dolphins’ top three receivers in a nutshell, and who Tagovailoa will need to depend on in his second season — before a possible addition in the draft — as Miami hopes to take the next step from winning 10 games and being on the brink of the playoffs last season.