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As we crawl through what seems to be one of the longest offseasons in recent memory, the NFL’s top-100 list usually marks the return of football.
With players arriving to training camp on July 28, the NFL finished its list on Wednesday night, with Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens getting the nod as the NFL’s top player.
There wasn’t a single Miami Dolphins player mentioned mentioned on the list, but Kenyan Drake, who was drafted by Miami in the third round of the 2016 draft, believes that shouldn’t be the case.
The fact @DeVanteParker11 doesn’t make the #NFLTop100 after last year’s performance lol keep ball Unc
— Kenyan Drake™ (@KDx32) July 29, 2020
Former first round pick DeVante Parker certainly broke out in his fifth season and earned a brand new contract as a result. Parker’s 1,202 yards was the fifth-most in the league and second in the AFC, just behind Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs.
He was also tied for fourth in touchdowns, finishing the 2019 season with nine. However, he was second in the AFC, just behind Baltimore’s Mark Andrews and his 10 touchdowns. Parker made the most of his opportunities as he was targeted the 16th-most among NFL receivers with 128 targets and caught 72 balls that came his way. Keep in mind, he was also tied for third in the NFL with 21 receptions going for 20-plus yards. In terms of the AFC, he was the top dog with former Dolphins receiver Jarvis Landry right behind him, closing 20 receptions of 20 yards or more.
What makes Parker’s season more impressive is that he wasn’t Miami’s featured receiver until roughly week nine. In Weeks 1-8 he was only targeted 10 times once. However, he was targeted at least 10 times in six-of-eight games to close the season. A major factor here was Miami’s usage of Preston Williams, who was targeted 60 times in the first eight games of the season before suffering a season-ending injury.
A handful of former Dolphins made the NFL Top-100 list including Laremy Tunsil, Landry, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ryan Tannehill.
While Drake may have a point, the NFL Top-100 list seems to operate like the NFL Pro Bowl. Players, at times, are recognized with these honors after two-strong years (despite deserving the nod after good season).
Be sure to check out the most-recent episode of Phinsider Radio.
Josh Houtz (@Houtz) and I discuss Miami’s recent roster moves and create a Madden 2020: Fan edition that may just be outregous enough to be worth playing.