Week 9 at Arizona Cardinals
It's hard to take much away from last week's performance as the Dolphins finished with fewer than 100 passing yards. DeVante Parker obviously faced the consequences of that, finishing with just one catch for three yards. It thankfully went for a touchdown, but we ended up not learning much about Parker in his debut with Tua Tagovailoa. We do know, however, that Parker is a great talent and better days are ahead. This week he gets a fairly tough matchup against the Cardinals (No. 13 aFPA), and should be viewed as a WR3. We're projecting around 50 yards for Parker in Week 9.
Week 8 vs. Los Angeles Rams
DeVante Parker struggled last week, finishing 3-35 on eight targets. It was a season-low in receiving yards for Parker, and just the second time he's dipped below 50 receiving yards in a game this season. Things will get interesting this week as Parker gets a new quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa. It's tough to predict whether this will boost Parker, hurt him, or mostly remain the same. The bigger issue is the matchup, a tough Rams secondary featuring Jalen Ramsey. The Rams have allowed the fourth-fewest total receiving yards to wideouts this season, and just three receiving touchdowns to wideouts. With a bad matchup and a QB change, don't be surprised if Parker has an off-week. We like him as a low-end WR2 or solid WR3 play in Week 8.
Week 6 vs. New York Jets
DeVante parker only finished with two receptions last week, but he turned it into a productive outing with 50 yards and a touchdown. Parker has hit 50 yards in every game but one, and he hit 47 in that game (and left early due to injury). Parker has been the Dolphins' best receiver in an offense that's topped 300 passing yards three times this season. In other words, he's productive and should have more opportunities for good games. He gets a favorable matchup this week against the Jets (23rd in aFPA), and should be viewed as a lower-end WR2. We're projecting around 70 yards for Parker.
Week 5 at San Francisco 49ers
DeVante Parker benefited the most from Ryan Fitzpatrick's 300-yard day, finishing 10-110-0 on 12 targets. It's his first 100-yard game of the season, and it came despite him being questionable with an ankle injury. Parker is still listed on the injury report, but he should be good to go in Week 5. Parker has been solid in 2020, averaging 17.4 PPR points in the three games he's played fully (he left Week 1 early due to injury). He gets a decent matchup this week against the 49ers, who are 16th in aFPA to wide receivers. We like Parker as a solid WR2 play in Week 5.
Week 4 vs. Seattle Seahawks
DeVante Parker finished with a season-high in receiving yards last week with a nice 69-yard performance off five receptions (and five targets). Parker finished with 43% of the Dolphins' passing/receiving yards, so he had about as good as a game as he could under the circumstances. He draws a favorable matchup this week against a Seahawks defense that's allowed an average of 400+ passing yards through the first three weeks of the season. We like Parker as a strong WR2 in Week 4 vs. Seattle.
Week 3 at Jaguars
DeVante Parker had a strong Week 2 performance, finishing 5-53-1 on eight targets. He's still dealing with a hamstring injury, which has left him limited in practice this week, but he should active against the Jaguars in Week 3. We like Parker as a WR3 option against Jacksonville. The Jaguars have allowed the 10th-fewest receptions to receivers so far in 2020, but two games is a small sample size. We're projecting around 4-5 receptions for about 60 yards.
Week 1 at New England Patriots
DeVante Parker seemingly came out of nowhere last season to have a breakout year, finishing with a career-best 72-1202-9 season. It's worth noting, however, that the bulk of his production came after Preston Williams was sidelined with an injury. With Williams back, it'll be interesting to see if Parker can maintain the level of success he had in the back-end of 2019. He'll face a tough test in Week 1 against the Patriots and Stephon Gilmore. Parker should have some good games in 2020, but we're projecting him to finish under 60 yards this week, putting him in WR3 territory. Parker is also dealing with a hamstring injury, which has left him limited in practice.
Fantasy Upside
Many considered DeVante Parker a bust heading into 2019, but he proved himself to be a late bloomer with a career season. Parker finished 72-1202-9 (all career highs) as he dominated in Miami. Parker saw 128 targets last season, 13th-highest in the league. He especially shined later on in the year, averaging 104.7 yards in his last seven games.
Fantasy Downside
It’s rare to see someone break out so late in their career, so we’re a little skeptical that Parker can replicate what he did in 2019. For starters, his biggest games came following Preston Williams’ injury. Parker with Williams in the lineup went 28-400-4 in the first eight games, and without Williams went 44-802-5 in the final eight games. Parker also had a very low catch percentage of 56.3, which ranked 170th among all players with at least 20 receptions.
2020 Bottom Line
Parker had only finished above 700 yards once in his four seasons before his 2019 breakout. And with Williams returning the lineup, it’s hard to see him fully replicate what he did a year ago. There’s also a question of a new quarterback, adding some additional risk factor when thinking about Parker. There’s more reason to like Parker heading into 2020 than there was in 2019, but now his hype has driven up his ADP to a point where he may not be worth it. Parker should be viewed as a lower-end WR2 this season.
Week 17 at New England Patriots
DeVante Parker continued his hot streak last week with a dominating performance over the Bengals, finishing 5-111-1. It could have been better, though, considering Parker caught just five of his 15 targets. He could struggle to catch even more passes this week in a brutal matchup against the Patriots. Parker's been incredible this season, especially after Preston Williams went down, but there is a valid concern he won't produce this week. He had no receptions off seven targets when he played New England earlier in the year. We don't expect another goose egg, but Parker is more of a lower-end WR2 this week instead of the WR1 he's been lately.
Week 16 vs. Cincinnati Bengals
DeVante Parker continues to shine in Preston Williams' absence, finishing 4-72-2 last week. The only game he hasn't played well in since Williams was hurt was the one in Week 14 when Parker left early due to injury. If we exclude that game, Parker has averaged 5.8 receptions, 105 yards and 0.8 touchdowns. He'll get a solid matchup this week against the Bengals where he should continue to produce at a high level. Based on his recent production, Parker has made himself into a strong WR1 in Week 16.
