Dolphins' Selection of DeVante Parker Completes Rebuild at Wide Receiver

It began with an exodus of experienced veterans, and it ended with an influx of youth and athleticism. 

But now that the Miami Dolphins have added Louisville wide receiver DeVante Parker to their offense, it's safe to say that their rebuild at the wide receiver position is complete.

For the first time since 2011, the Dolphins have a receiver who can dominate on the boundary, win jump balls, beat one-on-one coverage and stretch a defense vertically with the long speed to make big plays down the field. Parker is that receiver. 

At 6'3" and 209 pounds, Parker ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash at the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine and posted a 36.5" vertical jump. Those are the kinds of measurables the Dolphins haven't had all in one receiver since Brandon Marshall left the fold. 

Pair Parker with 2014 second-round pick Jarvis Landry and 2015 trade acquisition Kenny Stills, and the Dolphins have a complete set of receivers that can threaten a defense at all levels of the field. 

Landry dominates on short routes from the slot; Stills and Parker are both versatile enough to line up on the outside or the slot, but Stills dominates at the intermediate level and Parker is primed to be the Dolphins' primary deep threat. 

Player	Ht	Wt	Age	Exp
Greg Jennings	6'0"	195	31	10
Jarvis Landry	5'11"	202	22	1
Rishard Matthews	6'0"	215	25	3
DeVante Parker	6'3"	209	22	R
Kenny Stills	6'0"	194	23	2

The rebuild is complete, but the question is whether the Dolphins have truly upgraded. On paper, it would appear so, but we'll only get the answer to that in time. 

"Obviously you know that has to come together with [quarterback] Ryan [Tannehill] and the receivers and obviously three new players," Dolphins executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum said after making the pick. "But what we feel good about is that coach obviously has a familiarity with Greg Jennings and did a lot of research on Kenny Stills. ... I think that [Parker]'s a great example of the tape sets the floor and the character sets the ceiling, and where this group could go is going to be really exciting to watch."

The Dolphins have every right to be ecstatic about the pick. 

Parker gives the Dolphins what they were missing: a physical presence that can win matchups in the red zone and can adjust to poorly thrown deep balls, but also has the versatility to run quick-hitting routes over the middle and weave through traffic for extra yards.

Basically, he's the complete package for the Dolphins: everything they need their receivers to be, and everything none of their receivers are. 

"He was absolutely the best player available and when he was still there at 14, there were a lot of high fives," said general manager Dennis Hickey. 

With Parker running routes for the Dolphins, defenses will have to respect his presence every time he steps on the field. Simply by being on the field, Parker makes the Dolphins offense better by allowing for softer coverage on the other receivers, as well as tight ends Jordan Cameron and Dion Sims. 

That's splendid news for Ryan Tannehill, who threw a vast majority of his passes to receivers on short and intermediate routes last season (362 of 555 aimed passes, according to Pro Football Focus).

Tannehill has not been successful throwing deep over the past couple of seasons. From 2013-2014, Tannehill has completed 32 of 117 (27.4 percent) passes that traveled 20 yards or more, and has thrown a catchable ball (either caught or dropped by the receiver) on 41 of 117 (35 percent) of those passes.

Granted, he didn't have a deep receiver quite as gifted or reliable as Parker over the past two seasons, so we'll have to see how Parker's presence changes the script for the Dolphins offense. 

For now, though, it looks as though it could change everything. Maybe that's because everything has changed.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release. All advanced statistics provided by Pro Football Focus.