The No. 1 wide receiver job for the Miami Dolphins is still up for grabs heading into 2018, but which player will step up to fill the void.
During his four year tenure with the Miami Dolphins, Jarvis Landry caught 400 passes on 567 targets. That’s a ridiculous number and his departure opens up a ton of targets in the passing game. The two clear-cut starters heading into 2018 are DeVante Parker and Kenny Stills. The question is, which one of those guys steps up as the No. 1 target?
DeVante Parker has one massive glaring issue that has plagued his career and it’s certainly not a lack of talent. He just can’t seem to stay healthy. He’s missed six games in three years, which doesn’t seem like a ton, but he always seems to be banged up and significantly less than 100 percent.
Last year was set to be his breakout season and it certainly looked that way early. He was playing great with Jay Cutler, then got injured in the team’s fourth game. He was strong when he returned before he hit a lull due to once again being less than fully healthy combined with quarterback woes in Miami.
Still, we have seen flashes of brilliance out of Parker and he has by far the most upside of this entire wide receiver corps. In 13 games last season he caught 57 of 96 targets for 670 yards. 57 receptions is a career high, his career highs in yards and touchdowns are 744 and four both in 2016. If he can manage to stay healthy there is no reason he can’t far surpass all his career highs this season. Landry being out of the fold leaves the door wide open for Parker to not only be the most productive wideout in Miami but potentially emerge as a breakout star in the entire NFL.
Stills may not be the prototypical WR1 like Parker is, but outside of Landry he’s been the most dependable, durable and consistent wideout in Miami since being acquired from New Orleans in 2015. His first season was overall a bust, but there is no denying his impact on the field the past two seasons.
During that two-year span he caught 100 passes for 1,573 yards and 15 touchdowns. That’s clearly his case for being the top guy for the Phins. His speed is evident and he’s only missed one game in five NFL seasons.
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This almost seems like a slam dunk for Stills when you look at the raw numbers. However, it goes the opposite way if you just look at their physical skill set. So the question remains, who will be the top guy in teal and orange this season. I’m going to have to go with my gut here and say Parker. I loved him when he was drafted and had him as the 1B to Amari Coopers’ 1A in his draft class.
It’s going to take a bit of a leap of faith that he can stay healthy, nonetheless, I fully anticipate him taking a huge next step this season and becoming the legitimate star wideout everyone knew he could be when the team drafted him in the first round.