Well… it finally happened. DeVante Parker played all 16 games. And he dominated like the guy we saw at Louisville years ago.
Parker’s 128 targets, 72 catches, 1,202 yards and 9 TDs blew away previous career highs. Awesome, right? There’s just no question he got there with help from a key injury.
Rookie Preston Williams was emerging as a go-to option. From Weeks 1-8, he tallied 32-428-3 on 60 targets. Then in his final game — Week 8 — he suffered a torn ACL.
Check out these per game splits from Parker with and without Williams:
With: 5.75 targets, 3 catches, 42.8 yards, .37 TDs
Without: 11.25 targets, 6.75 catches, 114.75 yards, .75 TDs
Essentially, Parker was a WR4 with Williams; a dynamic WR1 without him. Parker reached 10 targets 6 times and 100 yards 4 times with his teammate sidelined.
It’s also worth noting that Josh Rosen entered the lineup for 3 games with a healthy Williams. His play clearly fell short of Ryan Fitzpatrick’s.
Parker meshed well with Fitzpatrick’s attacking style. He finished with a big 14.73-yard average depth of target, helping produce 10.1 yards per target. The latter mark ranked 5th among 26 WRs with 100+ targets last year.
The Fins liked what they saw enough to ink Parker to a 4-year extension in December. He’s under contract through the 2023 season.
Handing him nearly $22 million in guaranteed money signals their #1 WR expectations. The front office didn’t even add any target competition, as the Fins return Williams, Albert Wilson, Allen Hurns and Jakeem Grant.
Ryan Fitzpatrick is the likely Week 1 starter. Tua Tagovailoa brings promise for the future, but his recovery from hip surgery — and Miami’s transitioning O-line — are reasons to proceed slowly.
A true wildcard is the arrival of OC Chan Gailey. We like his familiarity with Ryan Fitzpatrick, who he coached for 5 seasons in Buffalo. Gailey’s results, overall, simply haven’t inspired confidence. In 14 stops as a HC or OC, his offenses have finished top-20 in pass attempts only 5 times; top-20 in yards 6 times.
He’s generally orchestrated a spread attack with the goal of attacking defenses downfield. Parker fits that mold well, so don’t expect a drastic change from his 2019 usage.
Parker’s put together one complete season in 5 chances as a pro. So he’s not the safest fantasy pick.
Still, it’s clear the Dolphins want him to remain in the #1 role. The front office didn’t upgrade the WR corps. And projected #2 target Preston Williams is coming off mid-season ACL surgery. While Parker’s play was just average with Williams active, we’d bet on his production falling near the middle of his pre- and post-Williams splits.
Barring injury, Parker should at least supply WR3 production — with the upside to approach WR1 territory.