The Miami Dolphins are beginning a new era with Brian Flores taking the mantle of being the new head coach. That's just one of the few changes that the Dolphins made this offseason.
Along with Flores, the Dolphins brought in Ryan Fitzpatrick and traded for Josh Rosen at the quarterback position. Miami also brought in Jim Caldwell as the assistant head coach and Chad O'Shea as the new offensive coordinator.
Flores and O'Shea come from the New England Patriots and have been part of some special teams. Miami fans are hoping for their success to rub off on their beloved Dolphins. After all, it's been 18 years since the Dolphins have won a playoff game.
In that same span, the Patriots have won six Super Bowls with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Miami has longed to take down the Patriots in the AFC East.
The first training camp for Flores will be important as it will begin changing the culture in Miami. Training camp begins in a couple of weeks for the Dolphins and here are three players who have the most to gain during it.
3. Josh Rosen
All of the fans focus during training camp will be on the quarterbacks in Fitzpatrick and Rosen. Flores has said there will be a battle for the starting spot but Fitzpatrick seemingly has the edge right now.
During OTAs and the minicamps, Fitzpatrick has gotten the nod as the starting quarterback. Whereas, Rosen has gotten the majority of his work with the second-teamers.
In Week 1, it would be wise to guess that Fitzpatrick will be the starter but Rosen could come off the top rope and surprise with an impressive showing during training camp. Even if Rosen doesn't begin the season as the starter, it's hard to believe that Rosen won't start at some point.
After all, the Dolphins didn't trade for Rosen just to have him hold the clipboard all season. At some point, the Dolphins are going to see what they have in the young quarterback but until then, Rosen has to prepare himself to be the starter.
2. Kalen Ballage
Last season, the Dolphins used both Frank Gore and Kenyan Drake as their main running backs. Those two split the workload for the most part, with Kalen Ballage getting some work in.
Ballage was the Dolphins' fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. The Arizona State running back was drafted as a future piece of the offense. Gore left in free agency to play with the Buffalo Bills and Drake figures to see his role exponentially grow.
Although, Drake won't get every single touch in the backfield as he isn't made to be an every-down back in the NFL. With that being said, that leaves Ballage with an opportunity to earn more touches in the offense moving forward.
If Ballage can impress during training camp, he can easily become Drake's right-hand man in the rushing attack in 2019.
1. DeVante Parker
Coming into the 2015 NFL Draft, DeVante Parker was regarded as one of the best receivers in the draft among Amari Cooper, Kevin White, Nelson Agholor, and Breshad Perriman.
Out of those wide receivers, only Cooper has amounted to much of anything. After being taken 14th overall in the 2015 NFL Draft, Parker has yet to live up to the expectations that come with being a high draft pick.
In four seasons with the Dolphins, Parker has totaled just 163 receptions, 2,217 yards, and nine touchdowns. Now, in 2019, Parker has a chance to redeem himself in Miami. Currently, Parker is near the top of the depth chart for the Dolphins with all of the injuries to Kenny Stills, Jakeem Grant, and Albert Wilson.
This offseason, the Dolphins signed a team-friendly deal to keep Parker for the next two seasons. That leaves Parker tow years to figure things out in Miami—beginning with training camp in a couple of weeks.
Follow Us
Subscribe