Despite their 3-10 record, there are a lot of reasons to feel good about the Miami Dolphins. After starting the season as the worst team in football, head coach Brian Flores and general manager Chris Grier have started to successfully build a foundation on which to build a strong, sustainable contender. That foundation got even stronger after the Dolphins and wide receiver DeVante Parker agreed to a four-year, $40 million extension on Friday.
DeVante Parker Extension Show Miami Dolphins, Brian Flores Rebuilding the Right Way
DeVante Parker Himself
Through the first four years of his career, DeVante Parker never managed to live up to his first-round draft pedigree. In what seemed like an annual tradition, Parker would light up June minicamps before struggling to maintain any semblance of consistency on the field. He famously ended up in Adam Gase’s doghouse and looked destined to be a draft bust.
While he didn’t do it with any consistency, Parker still flashed his insane raw ability throughout the first four years of his career. Parker ended his rookie season by hauling in 13 receptions for 286 yards and one touchdown over the final three games and started the 2016 season with an eight-catch, 106-yard performance against the New England Patriots. However, as the years progressed his production continued to dip until he eventually was buried on the depth chart behind Albert Wilson, Kenny Stills, and Danny Amendola.
However, Adam Gase left and Brian Flores put Parker in the position to succeed. Through the first 13 games of the season, Parker has 55 receptions for 882 yards and six touchdowns while being one of the most consistent receivers in the league. This isn’t just a product of having no other good receivers on the roster, as the underlying numbers suggest Parker is genuinely playing well. According to Pro Football Focus, Parker has a 76.0 grade, good for 24th-best among all wide receivers. Additionally, Sharp Football Stats notes that Parker has a 97 passer rating and 54% success rate when targeted. The passer rating leads the team among players with 20 or more targets, while the success rate is just two percentage points behind Allen Hurns.
Building A Sustainable Contender
For years, the Miami Dolphins operated on a philosophy built around being mediocre. The Dolphins would typically overpay for veterans, win 7-9 games a season, and end up just outside of the playoff picture. On a good year, they’d catch a few lucky bounces and earn a Wild Card spot before losing to a considerably better team. That all changed in 2019 when the Dolphins decided to go all-in on building for the future.
The Dolphins traded away several good players for draft picks, but they made sure to keep the core pieces around. Prior to the season, the Dolphins made Xavien Howard the richest cornerback in the league with a five-year, $76.5 million extension. Howard should lock down the secondary for years to come while Parker can serve as a safety blanket for whoever the quarterback of the future ends up being.
Despite the lack of talent on the roster, Flores and company refused to like down and tank. Intent on building a winning culture and inspiring confidence in the locker room, Flores has managed to remain relatively competitive with the current iteration of the roster. While that winning culture probably cost them a shot at Joe Burrow, the Dolphins still have plenty of draft capital to build for the future. The foundation is in place, the coaching staff is right, and the future is bright for the Miami Dolphins.
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