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With the pick of DaVante Parker we added a 5th hands catcher to our WR/TE receiving corps. Last year we had only 1, Jarvis Landry.
It's like we loved Jarvis Landry so much we got versions of him at every other spot. Deep threat with good hands is Kenny Stills. Big possession receiver outside is DaVante Parker. Grizzled veteran leader and guy who can play every WR position is Greg Jennings. This bodes well.
Kenny Stills, arguably, has the best hands of the receivers in his draft class. Last year he was rated 4th best hands in the NFL (lowest drop percentage).
Jarvis Landry had the 3rd best hands in the NFL last year. He was widely considered to have the best hands of his draft class.
DaVante Parker is widely considered to have the best hands of this year's draft class. I believe he only had 2 drops since 2012 or some such impressive figure.
Greg Jennings has long been known for his exceptional hands. He will be a great addition.
Jordan Cameron is also very highly regarded for his exceptional hands. He is particularly good at making contested catches in traffic.
This is a dramatic upgrade to the receiving corps from last year. Couple this with good route runners, hard workers, good citizens and young players; this is how a team builds around a young franchise QB.
IMHO, we should have been doing this such the moment we drafted Tannehill, like the Colts did for Luck with Hylton, Allen and Fleener. Let the young QB build a rapport with his receivers that will become the bedrock upon which the offense and his career are built. Marino had Duper and Clayton from day 1, with Nat Moore to teach them all the right way.
Greg Jennings is our modern day Nat Moore. Stills is our Duper and Parker is our Clayton, with Landry featuring prominently in today's pass happy version as well.
How big of an upgrade is it really?
IMHO, to quote Tannehill on just about every change the Dolphins ever make, "it's huge."
Of course, Tannehill says even when they change the flavor of Gatorade on the sidelines or there is a Windows update on the version of Microsoft Surface tablets the NFL uses on the sidelines.
Me on the other hand .... I rarely say this so let's examine it to see.
Mike Wallace, supreme deep threat that demands double coverage. Despite his somewhat disappointing production, he completely filled his role of occupying two defenders and keeping one safety out of the box. This was a primary reason Lamar Miller had a great year and averaged 5.1 ypc. But, Wallace didn't practice his deep routes during the offseason and not often during the season (wanted to save his legs) and his timing was always off. He was very poor at tracking the ball and not good at catching it. Given that Tannehill doesn't throw a nice touch "drop it in the bucket" ball, these deficiencies were multiplied and Wallace didn't catch nearly enough deep passes.
Stills is not the same caliber of deep threat and may not open up the run game quite as well, but he has legit deep speed and should occupy two defensers most of the time. But Miller will miss Wallace.
What Stills does provide is far better ball tracking skills and hands. Expect Tannehill to complete a lot more deep throws this year and get more long touchdowns. Stills also runs a nice array of routes and runs them well.
But, Tannehill still needs to develop the ability to drop th long ball into a bucket, because 40+ yard laser beams make it much tougher on the receicer. Tannehill needs to learn how to throw a deep ball with touch.
Hartline was a muuuuuch better receiver than people give him credit for being. Despite his injury robbing him of some explosiveness, he would have likely has a third consecutive 1,000 yard season last season if he had been targeted more. Reducing his targets reduced his output, but he was much more efficient than this board want to admit. But, we forced the ball in to Wallace way too much to appease Wallace's ego, and Hartline was most often the guy whose production suffered because of it. Hartline is constantly ridiculed for "falling down," and while funny, isn't accurate. He actually has a better RAC number than many of the guys those same critics consider good after the catch.
Still, DaVante Parker is a significant upgrade. Parker is a bigger (6"3), more natural pass catcher with a fantastic wingspan (80") and good ups (36.5"). Parker is a far superior red zone threat with the length we have severely lacked. He also has better hands.
Jennings is a stud. People do not realize it, but last year he quietly had more explosive plays than Mike Wallace. Peterson wasn't there and Minnesota didn't force the ball in to Jennings like we did to Wallace. So, expect him to have much more left in the tank than the TV talking heads think.
Jordan Cameron is what Tannehill really lacked last year. He is a 4.5 speed threat with 6'5" height and 37.5" ups to make a filthy seam threat. At 250 lbs., and with excellent hands, he may be the 3rd best TE in the game. He is a poor man's Jimmy Graham. He also is quite adept at finding holes in zones. He is a reliable 3rd down outlet and a superb red zone threat.
Can he block? Not really. :/ Can he stay healthy? Ummmm ........ Fingers crossed.
All in all Tannehill is a precise thrower. With a full complement of guys who run good routes and are exceptional hands catchers, Tannehill is poised for a personal record breaking season. We need to sign him long term before the season starts, because with these weapons, his price is going UP.
But, he still needs to practice the deep ball. Gague speeds better, throw just beyond the DB's and trust his receivers to get there. And most importantly, he needs to learn how to throw a lofted ball that can drop into a bucket for his receivers. I have faith he can do that ... but he has a career making receiving corps, so the time to start is now.
Yeah, we still have a shambles across the OL. We still lack a complete RB and complete TE's, but his receiving corps is full of good hands people.
I expect great things this 2015 season and the basis for even more moving forward.
Do you think these are upgrades?
It's like we loved Jarvis Landry so much we got versions of him at every other spot. Deep threat with good hands is Kenny Stills. Big possession receiver outside is DaVante Parker. Grizzled veteran leader and guy who can play every WR position is Greg Jennings. This bodes well.
Kenny Stills, arguably, has the best hands of the receivers in his draft class. Last year he was rated 4th best hands in the NFL (lowest drop percentage).
Jarvis Landry had the 3rd best hands in the NFL last year. He was widely considered to have the best hands of his draft class.
DaVante Parker is widely considered to have the best hands of this year's draft class. I believe he only had 2 drops since 2012 or some such impressive figure.
Greg Jennings has long been known for his exceptional hands. He will be a great addition.
Jordan Cameron is also very highly regarded for his exceptional hands. He is particularly good at making contested catches in traffic.
This is a dramatic upgrade to the receiving corps from last year. Couple this with good route runners, hard workers, good citizens and young players; this is how a team builds around a young franchise QB.
IMHO, we should have been doing this such the moment we drafted Tannehill, like the Colts did for Luck with Hylton, Allen and Fleener. Let the young QB build a rapport with his receivers that will become the bedrock upon which the offense and his career are built. Marino had Duper and Clayton from day 1, with Nat Moore to teach them all the right way.
Greg Jennings is our modern day Nat Moore. Stills is our Duper and Parker is our Clayton, with Landry featuring prominently in today's pass happy version as well.
How big of an upgrade is it really?
IMHO, to quote Tannehill on just about every change the Dolphins ever make, "it's huge."
Of course, Tannehill says even when they change the flavor of Gatorade on the sidelines or there is a Windows update on the version of Microsoft Surface tablets the NFL uses on the sidelines.
Me on the other hand .... I rarely say this so let's examine it to see.
Mike Wallace, supreme deep threat that demands double coverage. Despite his somewhat disappointing production, he completely filled his role of occupying two defenders and keeping one safety out of the box. This was a primary reason Lamar Miller had a great year and averaged 5.1 ypc. But, Wallace didn't practice his deep routes during the offseason and not often during the season (wanted to save his legs) and his timing was always off. He was very poor at tracking the ball and not good at catching it. Given that Tannehill doesn't throw a nice touch "drop it in the bucket" ball, these deficiencies were multiplied and Wallace didn't catch nearly enough deep passes.
Stills is not the same caliber of deep threat and may not open up the run game quite as well, but he has legit deep speed and should occupy two defensers most of the time. But Miller will miss Wallace.
What Stills does provide is far better ball tracking skills and hands. Expect Tannehill to complete a lot more deep throws this year and get more long touchdowns. Stills also runs a nice array of routes and runs them well.
But, Tannehill still needs to develop the ability to drop th long ball into a bucket, because 40+ yard laser beams make it much tougher on the receicer. Tannehill needs to learn how to throw a deep ball with touch.
Hartline was a muuuuuch better receiver than people give him credit for being. Despite his injury robbing him of some explosiveness, he would have likely has a third consecutive 1,000 yard season last season if he had been targeted more. Reducing his targets reduced his output, but he was much more efficient than this board want to admit. But, we forced the ball in to Wallace way too much to appease Wallace's ego, and Hartline was most often the guy whose production suffered because of it. Hartline is constantly ridiculed for "falling down," and while funny, isn't accurate. He actually has a better RAC number than many of the guys those same critics consider good after the catch.
Still, DaVante Parker is a significant upgrade. Parker is a bigger (6"3), more natural pass catcher with a fantastic wingspan (80") and good ups (36.5"). Parker is a far superior red zone threat with the length we have severely lacked. He also has better hands.
Jennings is a stud. People do not realize it, but last year he quietly had more explosive plays than Mike Wallace. Peterson wasn't there and Minnesota didn't force the ball in to Jennings like we did to Wallace. So, expect him to have much more left in the tank than the TV talking heads think.
Jordan Cameron is what Tannehill really lacked last year. He is a 4.5 speed threat with 6'5" height and 37.5" ups to make a filthy seam threat. At 250 lbs., and with excellent hands, he may be the 3rd best TE in the game. He is a poor man's Jimmy Graham. He also is quite adept at finding holes in zones. He is a reliable 3rd down outlet and a superb red zone threat.
Can he block? Not really. :/ Can he stay healthy? Ummmm ........ Fingers crossed.
All in all Tannehill is a precise thrower. With a full complement of guys who run good routes and are exceptional hands catchers, Tannehill is poised for a personal record breaking season. We need to sign him long term before the season starts, because with these weapons, his price is going UP.
But, he still needs to practice the deep ball. Gague speeds better, throw just beyond the DB's and trust his receivers to get there. And most importantly, he needs to learn how to throw a lofted ball that can drop into a bucket for his receivers. I have faith he can do that ... but he has a career making receiving corps, so the time to start is now.
Yeah, we still have a shambles across the OL. We still lack a complete RB and complete TE's, but his receiving corps is full of good hands people.
I expect great things this 2015 season and the basis for even more moving forward.
Do you think these are upgrades?
