Louisville Cardinals

Louisville Football: Why is DeVante Parker still not producing in Miami?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

We discuss why former Louisville football player DeVante Parker has been struggling in his second season with the Miami Dolphins.

The ceiling for former Louisville football player DeVante Parker has been so high that, at times, people have been discussing if he has what it takes to be a top-five receiver in the NFL. Even with his amazing ability, Parker has been struggling in his first two professional seasons with the Miami Dolphins.

He missed the majority of the 2015 football season, but came in at the end and tore up the league. This production led to even higher expectations for Parker this season, but he hasn’t been able to live up to those expectations so far.

He was dealing with an injury during the preseason and it sounds as though he still isn’t healthy, which is why he hasn’t been playing well for Miami.

This is what Adam Beasley from the Miami Herald had to say about DeVante Parker:

“Wide receiver DeVante Parker has battled a hamstring injury all season. The Dolphins haven’t hid that; they’ve listed that issue on their injury report the last two days. But there’s more to the story. While Parker’s hamstring issue isn’t keeping him out of games or practices, it’s definitely stunting his development.

Parker, Miami’s first-round pick in 2015, has caught just 15 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown in his last five games. The Dolphins envisioned far more before the season began. And on Thursday, offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen blamed Parker’s health, at least partially.

“I don’t think he’s been healthy,” Christensen said. “I don’t think he’s been 100 percent. There’s something about just not feeling great. It’s hard to play that position when you’re not feeling great.”

If this was most anyone else on the Dolphins’ roster, it would be a non-story. Every player in the NFL has some sort of ailment this time of year.

But Parker is different. He missed much of his rookie season with a foot injury that required two surgeries. Plus Dolphins coaches have called out Parker’s poor off-field habits and have stressed with him the need to play through discomfort.”

This is extremely discouraging new for DeVante Parker, however hamstring injuries tend to linger on if they are not properly rehabbed and given time to heal. He is easily the best vertical-threat receiver on the Dolphins and they need him to be healthy for the offense to fully succeed.

Over the past few seasons, the only thing that has been shutting Parker down has been his own body. If he can stay healthy, then he can achieve great things in the NFL.

With that being said, there are many other guys that we could say the exact same thing about. The difference between the people that succeed and don’t succeed are the guys who can produce even when they aren’t at 100 percent.

However, there is a big difference between being hurt and injured. Only DeVante Parker can determine which one of the two he has been experiencing.