Parker aims to take another big leap to an elite receiver
Dolphins wide receiver DeVante Parker put up NFL Pro Bowl-worthy numbers in 2019, and he’s poised for a big follow-up season. Dolphins coach Brian Flores says Parker’s motivation comes from within.
Twenty-nineteen was great. But what is DeVante Parker going to do for an encore?
How does 84-1,165-7 sound?
As in 84 catches, 1,165 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
Those numbers might sound simultaneously ambitious and obscure, but they have logical significance.
It’s the average season stat line for the season that has followed a topfive output by NFL receivers from 2015 to 2018 — which were the first four years Parker was in the league.
In other words, once you crack the top five — which Parker did in 2019 with 1,202 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on 72 catches — there’s a good
chance you will continue producing at a Pro Bowl level.
The only real two duds of those aforementioned 20 receivers? JuJu Smith-Schuster in 2019 (42-552-3) and Odell Beckham in 2017 (25302-3). Both dealt with injuries in those step-back years, and Smith-Schuster’s issues compounded when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went down for the season.
But assuming Parker stays healthy (which is admittedly a big assumption) and he gets good quarterback play out of Ryan Fitzpatrick/Tua Tagovailoa/Josh Rosen, history suggests Parker will top 1,000 yards for the second consecutive season.
“With DeVante, I don’t really have to push many buttons,” said Dolphins coach Brian Flores, a well-known button-pusher.
“He’s a self-starter.
He’s self-motivated. He’s a competitive guy. I think he pushes himself and occasionally I’ll find the right buttons to push. For him, there really aren’t many. That’s been my experience over the last 18 months. I like where he’s at. If I feel like he needs a nudge, I’ll give it to him. I don’t have a problem doing that. He’s a motivated young man. I don’t — there are other players who may need a nudge. He’s one who competes every day.”
Every day includes Tuesday, when Parker time and again challenged the Dolphins’ highest-paid player. With Xavien Howard still hurt and likely sick, Byron Jones has assumed the role of the Dolphins’ No. 1 cornerback this camp. That means he has been matched up a lot against Parker, the team’s No. 1 receiver.
Jones has won some. Parker has won some — including on what’s probably been the play of training camp so far. During team drills Tuesday,
Parker went deep, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw it high. Jones jumped. But Parker jumped higher and came down with the big gainer.
“Byron is a good player,” Parker said after the team’s second training camp practice. “We just feed off of each other and we’re here to get each other better, that’s the biggest thing. He plays a different technique and sometimes you have to adjust to that, because I never have gone against him like that. We’re going to be making each other better.”
That’s a scary thought, considering Jones was a Pro Bowler in 2018 and Parker should have been one in 2019.
Parker finally stayed healthy, playing a full 16 games for the first time in his career. And in Flores, he had a coach who trusted him. All of his major statistical categories were career highs, including targets (128). Fitzpatrick realized what Parker did best: Get down field and outjump the coverage for deep balls, like he did Tuesday.
Last season was about establishing himself as a star. This year is about becoming a more complete player.
“For me, I just feel like I have work to do on the comeback routes and things like that, and just getting this offense down pat so I can be ready to go,” Parker said.
In new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, Parker will have his fifth different play-caller in six seasons. It’s the fourth different system Parker has had to learn as a pro. And it might be the most liberating.
“I would say that [Gailey] — it’s almost rare to know. He moves guys around, so it’s hard for the defense to stick on you at one spot. I think that can be a big advantage for us.”