Time for DeVante Parker to Start Paying off for Miami Dolphins

Some first-round picks take longer to get acclimated to the NFL than others. Sometimes, however, their early struggles are a result of circumstances that are out of their control.

Miami Dolphins rookie wide receiver DeVante Parker has been bothered by a nagging foot injury since the summer. He dominated the headlines during OTAs and spring practices, but his offseason was cut short after having surgery to replace a screw in his left foot. He initially suffered the foot injury as a senior at Louisville, and it cut his final year short.

He has taken the injury with him to the NFL. 

Whether his foot simply didn't have enough time to heal or has been aggravated by his action since joining the Dolphins, it's clearly the biggest factor behind Parker's struggles as a rookie.

Week	Opp	Snaps	Total	%
1	WAS	1	57	1.8
2	JAX	17	68	25
3	BUF	42	78	53.8
4	NYJ	23	65	35.4
6	TEN	5	70	7.1
7	HOU	18	63	28.6
8	NE	4	66	6.1
Total	--	110	467	23.6

Parker has been held out of practice this week and has attributed his absence to an issue with scar tissue, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. 

"I was feeling a little pain [Monday], but not severe pain," Parker said, per Jackson. "It might hurt a couple days. Nothing serious."

Clearly, the dings and scratches are adding up. So far, Parker has caught just four passes for 49 yards on the season. The Dolphins drafted Parker 14th overall in hopes that he would help the offense stretch the field with his long speed while also providing the big-bodied, boundary presence for their offense that they've been missing ever since the team traded wide receiver Brandon Marshall in 2012.

As it turns out, and as many rookie wide receivers have learned in the past, it's not as easy as plug-and-play when it comes to taking a productive college pass-catcher and making him a dynamic NFL threat. That's especially true when a player misses as much practice time as Parker missed this summer.

"The foot injury held him back in training camp, and now that we finally got him healthy, it's all about catching up on his fundamentals," interim head coach Dan Campbell said. "He'll flash. And when he flashes, you know what's to come but they are few and far between right now. He is improving every practice. When he's ready to go, we're going to cut him loose and let him go and you'll see a lot of him. So if he's not there, he's not ready."

Fundamentals? Those are important for every player, but if they're working on fundamentals, they're not working on learning the offense or studying a defense. 

Not ready in the physical sense, or in the mental sense? That's up for debate, though we know there's at least some evidence that he's not physically ready to perform at the level the Dolphins were hoping to see when they took a chance on him at No. 14 overall. 

The Dolphins are hoping to get a return on their investment sooner than later. This might be the week for it to finally start to happen; Campbell said the Dolphins are taking it easy with Parker to let him recuperate after games.

"We (are) just letting him, more than anything, feel a little bit better after," he said. "We think it was a scar tissue type of deal. So I talked to him [Tuesday] morning and he feels much better than he did even after the game. So I don't see that being an issue."

This could be a week where the Dolphins will need Parker more than ever.

The Buffalo Bills defense has been susceptible to the pass. Jarvis Landry and Rishard Matthews are talented receivers in their own right, but they could always use some help getting open on a consistent basis. Besides, both Landry and Matthews had a great game against the Bills in Week 3, combining for 14 receptions, 180 yards and two touchdowns.

The Dolphins still lost 41-14. 

In the past, Bills head coach Rex Ryan has given quarterback Ryan Tannehill some problems. In six games against Ryan's defenses (excluding a game when he was taken out by an injury after just five pass attempts), Tannehill is 138-of-242 (57 percent) for 1,522 yards, six touchdowns, nine picks and a 68.6 passer rating.

Comparatively speaking, those numbers are all worse than his per-game averages against the rest of the NFL.

With Ryan bringing the heat against Tannehill, the Dolphins receivers are going to have to get open very quickly in order to help Tannehill get the ball out before pressure gets home. The more talented receiving options Tannehill has at his disposal, the better chances he has of getting the ball out on time. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release.