Making the Pro Bowl case: These Dolphins deserve some league-wide recognition
Happy holiday — and NFL awards — season, sports fans!
As you dig into those leftovers, let’s dig into a couple of potential silver linings for an otherwise dreary Miami Dolphins season.
Because lost in the losing has been some admirable performances by names that might not even be known to casual Dolphins fans, let alone supporters of the league’s 31 other teams.
There’s a Pro Bowl case to be made for as many as three Dolphins players, even if coach Brian Flores on Thursday preferred to focus on team, and not individual, goals.
“Nobody can make a play without the 10 other guys,” Flores said before the team’s Thanksgiving practice. “If you’re a receiver, it’s hard to get any stats as receiver is somebody doesn’t throw you the football. It’s hard to get any stats running the football if nobody blocks. It’s hard to get an interception if you don’t have any pass rush. It’s hard to get a bunch of sacks if you don’t have anybody covering.
“I know there’s individual stats and accolades, in a team game like this, in a lot of instances, somebody or a group of people helped you get your stats or your accolades.”
That’s all true. But here’s another way to look at it: Individual excellence here should be celebrated even more, given the surrounding cast for the Dolphins’ best players.
So in the giving spirit of the season, let’s make the postseason awards case for the best of the 2019 Dolphins, even if the odds are steep that others will recognize them.
(All of the following stats are through Week 12’s games.)
Pro Bowl candidates
▪ Wide receiver Devante Parker: Year 5 has been Parker’s best. Barring injury, he will set career highs in every major stat.
He ranks 10th among AFC players in receiving yards (695), is tied for 11th in touchdowns (four) and is 12th in receptions (46).
And Parker is on a great trajectory. Since the bye week, Parker is second in the AFC in receiving yards (494), fourth in catches (36) and tied for sixth in receiving touchdowns (three).
“Just having fun and trying to be consistent,” Parker said. “Ball comes to me, I’m catching it, grabbing it.”
Parker said making the Pro Bowl isn’t a priority, but would like to top 1,000 yards on the season.
As for his many doubters?
“Let ‘em keep doubting.”
▪ Defensive tackle Davon Godchaux: He has quietly been a tackling machine. His 46 tackles (including 23 solo) are third among all NFL defensive tackles (behind Pittsburgh’s Cameron Heyward and Atlanta’s Grady Jarrett) and second in the AFC. They also rank eighth among all NFL defensive linemen and fourth among AFC defensive linemen.
And unlike Parker, Godchaux freely admits that he wants the invite to Orlando for the NFL’s all-star game.
“Of course I wouldn’t say no. I like to have confidence in myself, being consistent,” Godchaux said. “I think I am. I think I deserve to be in the Pro Bowl, but at the end of the day, if I don’t, I don’t. It’s life.”
Flores, on Godchaux: “He’s big, physical. He’s a talented player. He’s got some real leadership to him. He’s a smart player. He loves to play. I’ve been very pleased with him.”
▪ Linebacker Jerome Baker: Few second-year NFL players earn the captain’s patch and the defensive headset. Baker did both, a sign of how much the Dolphins’ coaching staff trusts him.
Baker has rewarded that trust with 80 tackles (ninth most in the AFC), including 51 since the bye.
He’s one of just three AFC linebackers with 80 or more tackles and at least one sack, one pass defensed and one forced fumble. The others are Cleveland’s Joe Schobert and Cincinnati’s Nick Vigil.
“It would definitely mean a lot,” Baker said. “Hopefully my peers think the same way, that I deserve that. I’m big on people you play with and play against, they respect your game. It would definitely mean a lot coming from my peers.”
All-rookie team candidates
▪ Wide receiver Preston Williams: If only Williams hadn’t gotten hurt. He might have not only made this team, but also the Pro Bowl. When he tore his ACL in Week 9, he led all rookie receivers with 32 catches and ranked fourth in receiving yards (428) and touchdowns (three).
▪ Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins: He’s the league leader in tackles among all rookie defensive linemen with 42. That’s 18 more than the next-closest rookie defensive tackle (Ed Oliver).
▪ Cornerback Nik Needham: Pro Football Focus loves this undrafted defensive back. The scouting website gives Needham the highest overall and coverage grade of any rookie corner with at least 300 defensive snaps.
This story was originally published November 28, 2019 at 12:57 PM.
