The Miami Dolphins’ wide receiver room is currently filled with a slew of role players, a 2019 breakout star and a few promising talents. But what will the Dolphins’ final product look like come August? Will this team bypass the chance to all talent to the wide receiver room thanks to the current levels of depth, or will the overall talent of the 2020 NFL Draft’s wide receivers prove to be too tempting?
If the Dolphins do decide to target a wide receiver, the odds feel greater that the Dolphins will be landing one in the middle rounds of this year’s class. That’s thanks in part to Miami’s pressing needs all over the roster. Which prospects would be in the mix?
Miami will have two primary avenues they can take in drafting a wide receiver — draft a speedy receiver to replace WR Albert Wilson or peg someone who is a clear and obvious fit in Chan Gailey’s passing offense. Gailey has, going back to his time in New York and Buffalo, frequently implemented size and wide receiver. Stevie Johnson, Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall all found great success under Gailey, logging 1,000 yard individual seasons.
If Miami indeed follows that route, it will be a taller receiver and not just someone who runs with speed. Preston Williams is assuredly going to be a part of the mix long-term, but yet another body capable of playing on the boundary puts a great deal of stress on opposing defenses.
Some names that make sense and should be available when the Dolphins pick at 56 or 70:
- South Carolina’s Bryan Edwards
- Florida’s Van Jefferson
- Michigan’s Donovan Peoples-Jones
- Texas A&M’s Quartney Davis
Peoples-Jones is the most explosive of this group and, amid a talented trio of wide receivers at Michigan, was used all over the field to generate touches. Jefferson is the most impressive height/weight/speed blend, where as South Carolina’s Edwards is a big, physical presence. Davis is a little more compact but more sudden with his feet.
This is the luxury of this year’s wide receiver class: there’s endless possibilities and when the value becomes too good to pass up, the Dolphins have enough picks to strike and make sure the pass catchers are fully stocked for whoever the next quarterback of the future is going to be.