Parker update

[cuchulainn]

Buried on the depth chart...

Andrew Abramson @AbramsonPBP 17 min
#Dolphins' Dan Campbell says no pressure to play DeVante Parker, he will have to beat out Rishard Matthews http://dailydolphin.blog.palmbeachpo...evante-parker/ …

Adam Beasley @AdamHBeasley 55 min
When Campbell asked about DeVante Parker: "Rishard Matthews has stepped up his game. He's a beast right now."

Andrew Abramson @AbramsonPBP 53 min
Campbell says no pressure to play Parker as a 1st rounder: "He's going to have to really, really push himself to try to pass those guys up"

Not a bad problem to have considering the level of play we've been getting from Matthews, Stills, Landry, and our TEs...

Hoping they'll get him a few designed plays each game and that we see more of him in the RZ where he can use his size and athleticism more.

Wondering how surprised Philbin is at the play of Matthews and Turner - both of whom he refused to play for various reasons.

[DolphinsFreak]

I don't think anyone on this forum would be okay with the Dolphins spending their 1st round pick, #14th overall, on a player that is being beat out by a 7th round draft pick. Only fans who wanted a wide receiver would be okay with Parker not being able to beat out a 7tth round pick. If the Dolphins would have drafted Cam Irving with the #14 pick and he was being beat out by Dallas Thomas there would be MANY angry fans on this board, and Thomas was a 3rd round pick. Just pointing out the facts..................

[Wulf]

Buried on the depth chart...

Not a bad problem to have considering the level of play we've been getting from Matthews, Stills, Landry, and our TEs...

Hoping they'll get him a few designed plays each game and that we see more of him in the RZ where he can use his size and athleticism more.

Wondering how surprised Philbin is at the play of Matthews and Turner - both of whom he refused to play for various reasons.

We drafted Parker due to the terrible production of our WR corps... Who could have known that we were going to be so blessed after trading Wallace for a 5th?

[cuchulainn]

We drafted Parker due to the terrible production of our WR corps... Who could have known that we were going to be so blessed after trading Wallace for a 5th?

Agree, especially after Philbin kept Matthews and Turner both inactive or out of the lineup for whatever reasons he came up with. I think he often cut off his nose to spite his face. That aside, from what Tannenbaum said after the draft, Parker was the top rated player on their board. They had him ranked as the 8th best player in the draft and he was there at #14. Parker's injury and recovery set him back before the season, but I expect we'll see him getting more snaps, especially in the RZ. If the OL can continue to improve and give Tannehill time, we're going to start putting up a lot of points.

Conversely, our OL woes in the 1st four games would have been lessened if Joe hadn't been so damned anal about stuff like the degree of angle of a lineman's stance. Bottom like, can the guy block someone or not? I thought Turner was easily better than Douglas in the pre-season. And as far at that goes - Douglas played LT and LG in college. He should have been competing with Dallas at LG while Turner worked at RG. So damned happy Joe is gone and Dan is bringing some common sense into play.

[FTLDOLFAN]

I don't think anyone on this forum would be okay with the Dolphins spending their 1st round pick, #14th overall, on a player that is being beat out by a 7th round draft pick. Only fans who wanted a wide receiver would be okay with Parker not being able to beat out a 7tth round pick. If the Dolphins would have drafted Cam Irving with the #14 pick and he was being beat out by Dallas Thomas there would be MANY angry fans on this board, and Thomas was a 3rd round pick. Just pointing out the facts..................

Sure there were players who we could have selected at #14 who would be making more of a contribution right now than Parker but who knew Matthews was going to be playing so well. I think in the long run we will be happy that we selected Parker.

[DolphinsFreak]

Sure there were players who we could have selected at #14 who would be making more of a contribution right now than Parker but who knew Matthews was going to be playing so well. I think in the long run we will be happy that we selected Parker.

There have been a few of us who knew that Matthews was a great receiver who wasn't getting enough playing time. I have been in his corner since I first saw him take the field. I knew he was a great WR and so did Nole and I think KellBell is a fan of his too. If you guys are correct and Parker ends up being a stud receiver that would be great, but it still won't change my opinion on this subject. A 14th overall pick should be playing every snap or close to it and the Dolphins draft a position that I expressed my opposition to because I felt the Dolphins were overloaded with talent at. I don't believe that they couldn't trade back, there were more then a few teams that would have traded up for Parker who didn't have giant holes on their offensive line and secondary. I stand by what I posted, that if the situation were reversed and the Dolphins drafted a lineman with the 14th overall pick and that lineman immediately had surgery and then in 6 games still hadn't really seen the field fans would be filling up this message board with complaints. Since so many people here wanted a WR they are setting aside their beliefs to support their decision on taking a WR rather then drafting a player who can contribute immediately, like a #14 player should do.

[Wulf]

Sure there were players who we could have selected at #14 who would be making more of a contribution right now than Parker but who knew Matthews was going to be playing so well. I think in the long run we will be happy that we selected Parker.

As I've always said, it's difficult to determine from the outside, WHO was pushing for who. Maybe Hickey made the decision, maybe Dawn weighed in. maybe Joe Philbin was so desperate to keep his job, that he wanted Parker to come in and magically fix the offense. We'll never know. One thing we DO know, is that this team has had a habit of NOT utilizing players, or the strengths of those players, to their fullest for many years now. The Philbin era showed that proclivity, but so did Sparano...
The "tradition" of not using our talent is a tragic, and damning part of our recent history. I'm seriously hoping that Campbell manages to get 100% from EVERY player, because we HAVE the guys...

I hope to see Parker come up strong, under the veteran receivers we have, so that when Jennings (32yrs old) is gone, Parker can step in, and we will have a solid young group of receivers...
Age-wise, I think that they are already among the youngest in the league.
Matthews-26, Hazel-23, Stills-23, Landry-22, and Parker-22

[Dolfan1]

"A 14th overall pick should be playing every snap or close to it"


Should be yes but shit happens. Look no further than Dion Jordan and Jadeveon Clowney

[phinfanfrom70s]

with all that said, IMO mathews has earned his play time no matter when he was drafted.
and I think campbell is a earn it type coach.
I think parker will have his time in the sun ,and it may not be this year unless there are injuries to the receiving corp.
mathews is perfect trade bate for some line men in the off season and then bring parker into the starting line up.

[So Be]

Matthews is a FA next year.

[ONole1]

IMO this is less about Parker and more about how Matthews is playing. Parker started out behind the eight ball with the foot injury that has hurt his progression. Matthews took advantage of that and is playing like a starting WR, so you can't take his snaps away. Landry is Landry, and no way are you taking his snaps away. Parker is going to fall into the mix with Stills and Jennings. Stills has played well the last two weeks and gives a dimension that Parker doesn't. Jennings has been pushed back and Parker has got to continue learning the route tree. I think with Campbell in charge we will see fewer three receiver sets, which unless Matthews starts tailing off Parker is going to have a hard time seeing snaps this year.

I like Erving and would have been fine drafting him but I felt Parker was the better pick at #14, and I still do. Just and fyi...Erving has only played 14 snaps in Cleveland...

[cuchulainn]

I agree with most of this. I really didn't expect to see Parker playing a whole lot until the 2nd half of the season anyway. I think Parker should have packages just for him for specific match-ups utilizing his length, speed, jumping ability and hands - especially in the RZ.

As for the OL struggles - a LOT of that is directly on Philbin going back to last season where he refused to play Turner, who was a better RT than Fox when given the chance there as James was at LT. Joe could never see the forest for the trees.

[Driven_Phinsane!]

IMO this is less about Parker and more about how Matthews is playing. Parker started out behind the eight ball with the foot injury that has hurt his progression. Matthews took advantage of that and is playing like a starting WR, so you can't take his snaps away. Landry is Landry, and no way are you taking his snaps away. Parker is going to fall into the mix with Stills and Jennings. Stills has played well the last two weeks and gives a dimension that Parker doesn't. Jennings has been pushed back and Parker has got to continue learning the route tree. I think with Campbell in charge we will see fewer three receiver sets, which unless Matthews starts tailing off Parker is going to have a hard time seeing snaps this year.

I like Erving and would have been fine drafting him but I felt Parker was the better pick at #14, and I still do. Just and fyi...Erving has only played 14 snaps in Cleveland...

I agree 100% It now seems that Parker was a bit of a luxury pick but this is only in hindsight; of course we all knew we needed some serious help on the OLine but we also knew we were revamping our whole WR corps (other than Landry) Most of us knew that Matthews was a baller but we also knew that Philbin had no clue, and we assumed he'd do what he could to get rid of him..Remember, had it not been for injuries to the WR corps, Matthews would've still been languishing on the bench under Philbin!

We also knew that with the foot surgery and missing the whole preseason Parker would have to be brought along slowly and it'd be well into the season before we'd get any significant production out of him, if at all..But no one could foresee this when we drafted him...I still think in the long run Parker will prove himself to be an excellent choice for us at 14.

[cuchulainn]

Agree. It's all about the long view. How many years did we draft for need and pass up guys who became premier talents while our ''need'' pick guys floundered after a season or two. As for the OL, we drafted James in the 1st and have drafted guys or signed FAs every season. The problems are with the coaching staff decisions. I think we have our RG going forward now and if Albert can stay healthy, we should be good shape. Still hoping that Douglas can displace Dallas at LG at some point.

[Driven_Phinsane!]

So far, so good with Billy Turner finally getting an opportunity...Now if we can only find someone to push Dallas Thomas, he remains the weakest link!

[cuchulainn]

We can win with 3/5ths of an OL. Can't with 2/5ths. For once the early BYE may have helped us. Hoping we can stay healthy thru the remaining 11 games and that the OL continues to improve. Turner was fantastic in the run game against the Titans. Hoping he can be as effective against the Texans. JJ Watt is going to test both Turner and James - a lot.

[kelbail21]

I understand Parker not being a need pick by the time the draft rolled around. I know I didn't agree with it because of need. However, I thought Parker would have been an excellent pick for the Dolphins after his junior year had he come out. Parker's combination of size, speed, strength, jumping ability, ball skills, great hands and RAC ability put him on the same level as Dez Bryant. He's that good. Jerry Rice struggled his rookie year and went through a spell where he couldn't catch a cold. My biggest concern with the selection is the offense we run and Tannehill's (Philbin's, Lazor's?) unwillingness to let plays develop downfield. Let's see if Lazor continues to diversify the offense, keep in an extra blocker and rely on two Wide Receiver sets. And let's see if Tannehill can use this change in strategy to attack defenses in all nine quadrants of the field. DeVante Parker is the most explosive WR on this team. I love Landry for all that he is but he is no DeVante Parker. It's only a matter of time before he explodes onto the scene. Just think, our star WR and star RB haven't even taken the field yet.

[Kato]

I don't think anyone on this forum would be okay with the Dolphins spending their 1st round pick, #14th overall, on a player that is being beat out by a 7th round draft pick. Only fans who wanted a wide receiver would be okay with Parker not being able to beat out a 7tth round pick. If the Dolphins would have drafted Cam Irving with the #14 pick and he was being beat out by Dallas Thomas there would be MANY angry fans on this board, and Thomas was a 3rd round pick. Just pointing out the facts..................

DF,
I agree 100% that a #14 pick should be expected to beat out a 7th rounder. I also understand your strong belief that there were more pressing concerns than WR and so this current fact of Matthews over Parker is particularly galling. Although i was happy and supportive of Parker mostly due to my perception of BPA, it was a hard choice because as we now see this team needs help everywhere but Cheerleaders. Like you, i am pissed that this guy is not the second coming of Jerry Rice. If i might offer one minor suggestion, you might want to slow down the "pointing out the facts" argument when mostly what you stated here are really your opinions about what Dolphin fans in general would want and what Dolphin fans would think about a hypothetical situation about a first round pick of an OL (Irving). Probably true, but not facts.

[HndRkyaBong34]

it's starting to stink up to a very similar resemblance to Dion Jordan.. Let's pick a sure starter and not play him... IMO, there was much bigger needs then a WR @ #14 and they're proving I was right....

[DolphinsFreak]

DF,
I agree 100% that a #14 pick should be expected to beat out a 7th rounder. I also understand your strong belief that there were more pressing concerns than WR and so this current fact of Matthews over Parker is particularly galling. Although i was happy and supportive of Parker mostly due to my perception of BPA, it was a hard choice because as we now see this team needs help everywhere but Cheerleaders. Like you, i am pissed that this guy is not the second coming of Jerry Rice. If i might offer one minor suggestion, you might want to slow down the "pointing out the facts" argument when mostly what you stated here are really your opinions about what Dolphin fans in general would want and what Dolphin fans would think about a hypothetical situation about a first round pick of an OL (Irving). Probably true, but not facts.

I agree with what you are saying, I should have chosen my words more wisely. I was "trying" to put into words that in that hypothetical situation, if ANY offensive lineman were drafted at #14 and he was being beat out by another player that was drafted late that the fans who wanted a top ranked wide receiver would have bee spamming this message board with complaints about the front office making a huge mistake. I can't say this for a "fact" that it would have happened, but I can say that from experience, there was a GREAT chance of that happening since I have seen it happen a countless amount of times.

You don't draft a player at #14 for what he can do down the road or the following year, you draft a player at #14 to be an instant contributor. Did someone in the front office draft him without knowing about his foot concerns? That pick was made and I hope he does turn out to be what many are saying he should be. I still think offensive line was the #1 priority and after the first few games it was apparent that the offensive line needed help. The could have signed Mathis and saved themselves a little bit but didn't do that either. I have no idea what this front office was thinking in regards to the o-line. How could they think they could roll with what they had, without a first round pick OR Mathis. They needed one if not both to help Tannehill get to another level and to help the running game.