I was always a DeVante Parker fan. The only thing holding him back was always the constant injuries. I gave up on him the year he finally conquered that and showed his ability, LOL, my timing sucks! But if healthy, he's a beast. Just for reference, in the 2015 Draft he was taken #14. Here are a few of the other notable 1st round picks we should keep in mind when looking at DVP.
7 | Chicago Bears | Kevin White | WR | West Virginia |
9 | New York Giants | Ereck Flowers (our new OG) | OT (complete flop at OT) | Miami (FL) |
14 | Miami Dolphins | DeVante Parker | WR | Louisville |
20 | Philadelphia Eagles | Nelson Agholor | WR | USC |
27 | Dallas Cowboys | Byron Jones (our new stud CB) | CB | Connecticut |
29 | Indianapolis Colts | Philip Dorsett | WR | Miami (FL) |
Parker was the best WR, and overall for that draft was a good pick. We obtained two other guys from that draft, Byron Jones our new elite CB, and Ereck Flowers who up until last year had been a bust, but who when moved to OG, he did fairly well. Let's hope that we are not forced to shift him out to OT, and that he continues to do decently at OG. Byron Jones was the gem of that draft class, and while he was a bit of an athletic marvel and boom or bust prospect, has panned out tremendously well.
As far as DeVante Parker is concerned, our investment eventually paid off. The draft is always seen as a load of future stars. It isn't always loaded with talent. Sifting through the great athletes and collegiate stars to find the good NFL players is a very inexact science. I'm not sure we should be asking whether Parker is elite. I think we should be appreciating the fact that we selected the best WR in that draft class, and he is excelling. That seems to be pretty well regarded as a consensus at this point, and I'm dang glad to see it.