The Miami Dolphins have pinned a lot of their hopes going forward on Ryan Tannehill, a player they very publicly made clear was their franchise quarterback - whether the numbers bear that out or not - via a fat new contract extension which carries about $45 million in guaranteed money and should keep Tannehill on South Beach for at least four more seasons.
While Tannehill's stats to this point have been good, if not great, his recent strides under new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor must have the Dolphins brass certain of his face of the franchise status moving forward.
Still, while Tannehill set career-highs in several statistical categories last year, if he's to take yet another big step forward in 2015, he'll need help.
Enter Dolphins first-round pick this past April, wide receiver DeVante Parker.
Parker, the 14th-overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft, has already been starring at Dolphins OTAs and drawing a lot of attention. According to teammate Jelani Jenkins, there's a good reason for that.
"He's an animal," Jenkins said recently, via Adam H. Beasley of The Miami Herald. "He goes and gets the ball wherever it is. He's aggressive. He knows how to use his body. I'm really impressed with him."
Jenkins' comments come only a couple days after Tannehill's backup, Matt Moore, who has actually had the pleasure of tossing some balls to Parker, voiced his own opinion of the young wideout's potential.
"Tannehill and I had a conversation about that after the first OTA - OTA number one - and I know the media was there that day," Moore said while appearing on the Joe Rose Show, via CBS Miami. "But it was like 'holy cow.' We went back and watched the tape and he's making all these catches. There's obviously things he needs to work on but the first thing that stands out to you is okay he catches the football and two, he makes it look effortless. He's very smooth.
"I think you can tell right away the kid's got it."
Parker entered the draft process with ample hype due to his elite athleticism and his basketball build, but also questions concerning the functionality of his strength and his overall speed.
It seems he's been hard at work already putting most of those fears to bed thus far at Dolphins OTAs.
If he can continue, Tannehill's ascent to a true franchise quarterback should be eased significantly and more importantly, the Dolphins will be aided in their neverending quest to overcome the New England Patriots in the AFC East.
