In Williams and Parker, the Dolphins might have their best 1-2 punch in a generation
Dolphins fans of a certain age have fond memories of the fantastic receiving duo with the equally fabulous name:
The Marks Brothers.
Mark Clayton and Mark Duper played together from 1983 to 1992.
It was the golden era of offense in team history (a certain quarterback out of Western Pennsylvania had a lot to do with that), and three times in eight seasons, they both had more than 1,000 receiving yards in the same year.
Before them, that never had happened in team history. And it hasn’t happened since.
But there’s reason to believe they finally will have company in that rarefied fraternity. In 2020, the Dolphins potentially have the best 1-2 combination in a quarter century.
DeVante Parker established himself as a star in 2019, finishing fifth in the NFL (and sixth in team history) with 1,202 yards.
And here’s the wild part: He was largely an afterthought this time last summer. All the hype went to rookie Preston Williams, whom Xavien Howard said will “be a No. 1 receiver one day.”
Is one day this day? We saw glimpses of that in 2019, but Williams tore his ACL and missed the last half of the season.
Now he’s back — and based on the six training camp practices open to reporters, potentially better than ever. He’s still big. He’s still fast. He still jumps high. And he still catches touchdown passes with panache.
“Getting injured — it’s not my first rodeo with the ACL, the knee injury,” Williams said. “I just knew I needed to work as hard as I could to get back in time for camp. I just came here every day, stayed here the whole summer, all offseason, worked my ass off. Now I’m getting my reps at practice, so I’m just happy to be out there with the guys.”
Williams’ previous ACL injury came on senior night of his final high school season. He made the jump to college soon thereafter and rehabbed there. Starting the recovery process right away was a big reason he made a full recovery.
Williams learned from that experience and followed the same plan as a pro — with seemingly similar results. And, according to quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, he has a great role model in Parker — who worked through his own injury history to put together a monster year in 2019.
“Preston is very unique, just in terms of his physical qualities — the height, the weight, the speed, how nimble he is, all that stuff, his ability to track the ball — and having to sit out, you always kind of look for the silver lining or maybe the positives in a situation that isn’t so positive,” Fitzpatrick said. “So him getting hurt last year, he was also just able to take a step back and watch a little bit and learn the game a little bit more and I know he worked his butt off all offseason and that was really apparent as we came back, just in seeing him and all the work that he put in, and he’s done a great job. I think his confidence is high right now.”
And Fitzpatrick’s confidence in Parker is just as high. We asked the Dolphins quarterback if the Parker-Williams tandem reminded him of the Mike Evans-DeSean Jackson duo that caught a bunch of passes from FitzMagic in Tampa Bay in 2017 and 2018.
His answer?
“Everywhere is a little bit different, but having two big guys on the outside with those qualities — they can go up and get the ball, they’re good route-runners, they’re smart players — I think that makes it difficult for a defense not just being able to key in on one guy. The way that we’re working right now, the way that those guys are showing up every day, it’s given our offense and I think our team a lot of confidence going forward.”
Added Williams: “We just feed off of each other. If DeVante makes a play, I want to make a play. If I make a play, DeVante wants to make a play.”
For longtime Dolphins fans, that sounds familiar. So do Williams and Parker have a catchy branding like those Dolphins titans from a generation ago?
“Not yet. Hopefully we can find one or the fans give us a nickname. Hopefully we’ll get one.”
▪ The Dolphins waived/injured Curtis Weaver Monday after he suffered what’s believed to be a significant toe/foot injury. He needs surgery and is likely done for the year. If no one claims him, the rookie defensive end will revert to injured reserve.
This story was originally published August 24, 2020 at 4:34 PM.
