The Dolphins cleaned house in their wide receiving group and before things are said and done there may still be a veteran and a rookie added to the new group. The Dolphins have shown interest in both veteran receivers, Crabtree and Jennings, however insiders tell me that Miami may not offer either of them a deal until after the draft, because they are still undecided on what role that veteran will have for the upcoming season. The phins are not sure if they want the veteran receiver to be the number 1 WR on the roster or as low as the number 4 WR, which means they do not want to pay a veteran top dollar if they are only going to use him sparingly.
The main reason why the Dolphins are willing to wait until after the draft to sign a veteran is because the best sportsbooks in the world are saying that this draft is just as deep as last year’s legendary wide receiver class. The Dolphins will have plenty of options to find a quality starting receiver in this draft, because it is loaded with around 15 NFL ready starters. The phins have a few other areas of need, however with the 14th overall pick and the possible opportunity to land one of the top three wide receivers in this upcoming draft it may be to tempting to pass one of them up.
Immediately after the college season ended when draft pundits were setting up their position rankings, the first choice on most of the best sportsbooks draft boards in regards to wide receiver was Alabama WR Amari Cooper. However, after the combine, WR Kevin White from West Virginia has impressed so much that he has now taken the number one spot on most of the best sportsbooks’ draft boards. (I have liked him the best from the beginning, he looks like another Kelvin Benjamin in the making.) After these two players, the consensus third best wide receiver is DeVante Parker from Louisville. Miami likes all three of these young players and believes either one of the three will be able to step in, and immediately be the number one receiver on the team, however so does most of the NFL teams, which means only Parker may be available when Miami is on the clock at the number 14 position.
There is no guarantee that Parker will be on the board when Miami is on the clock, but if he is, there is a strong feeling that Miami may pull the trigger on him. He spoke with Miami at the combine, and his first visit was with Miami, so there is no question that there is a high level of interest on the Dolphins’ part. I like Parker because he is a big WR at 6’3” 209 pounds and he is well rounded with quickness, very good hands, body control, and run after the catch ability. However, the only thing that worries me about Parker is that he broke his foot last season, which caused him to miss 7 games, and the year before in 2013 he missed a game due to injury. He has looked healthy throughout the draft process so it is fair to say there are now lingering injury concerns.
If Miami does pull the trigger on Parker I will say that I will not be disappointed in the pick. He has all the tools in order to be a number one receiver in the NFL, and there should be no question that he can start immediately at a position of need for us, and he will have the chance to become an impact player in his first season. What does the rest of Miami Dolphins News fans think about the Dolphins drafting Parker with the their first round pick?