The Miami Dolphins used their first-round pick last year on Louisville wide receiver DeVante Parker while also trading for speedster Kenny Stills in an attempt to help quarterback Ryan Tannehill break out in his fourth season. Yet neither receiver had a dramatic impact on the passing game, with the Dolphins finishing the year as a middle-of-the-pack team in that category. Fast forward one year and Miami has not made any significant changes to their wide receiving corps. Why? Because new head coach Adam Gase believes Miami's pass-catchers can have a breakout year.
Gase is particularly excited about Parker, who he saw improvement from down the stretch last season. The rookie head coach expects Parker to take on a larger role on offense in 2016.
"We're looking for him to be a big part of what we're going to do," Gase said. "I feel like we have a good group right now as a whole and I don't want to put any predictions on what he's going to do or anything like that. But we're looking for him to keep improving, get better from what he did last year. We are looking for him to make some strides this year.
"He's a talented player. I'm glad we're going to be able to go into the season and he's going to be healthy. For him to get to the end of the year and be able to play, that was big for his development. I know we have to bring him along and get him to grow at a rapid rate. We need him to be a good player, and I think he will be. Coming out, we felt really good about him. When we were in Chicago, he was being talked with Kevin [White]. I feel like going forward with DeVante, I love the skill set, I love what he can bring to this offense. For me, it's going to be about developmental, to see if we can bring him along as quickly as we can."
Parker appeared in 14 games last year but was hampered by nagging injuries all season. He caught 26 passes for 494 yards and three scores, but came on late with 9 receptions, 199 yards and one touchdown coming in the final two games of the season. He's a guy who was touted as a potential No. 1 wide receiver before last year's draft so Miami is expecting him to make a leap in Year 2.
As for Stills, Gase has hope that he can be more of a difference maker for Miami this year.
"I like Kenny's skill set," he said. "I've said this before, we were involved in trying to acquire him when we were in Chicago. Being around these guys from New Orleans that came up there and we tried to make a play for him before he got traded to Miami. I've always liked his skill set, I liked him coming out (of college). I'm excited to see what we can do to get him rolling in this offense. That's why I feel really good about the group that we have, the skill guys. If we could stay healthy I feel really good about that group."
Stills was a dangerous deep threat for the Saints in 2014 but managed to catch just 27 passes (on 63 targets) for 440 yards and three scores last year. Perhaps those numbers will rise with the arrival of Gase.
Follow Brandon Katz at @Great_Katzby
