DeVante Parker vs Preston Williams: The Miami WR Conundrum

In his debut article for TNFF, Matt Marchese (@DynastyMattFF) debates which of the the Miami Dolphins WRs you should draft.

It appears that 2020 is the year of the wide receiver, just take a look at Twitter and on all media platforms. There is plenty of talent to go around at the position and in Miami, it’s no different.

DeVante Parker had a breakout season last year, setting career highs in targets (128), catches (72), yards (1,202), touchdowns (9), receptions per game (4.5) and yards per game (75.1). Those numbers were good enough to make him the WR6 in standard formats and the WR11 in PPR formats. He was healthy, out of the doghouse thanks to the departure of Adam Gase and had a good rapport with Ryan Fitzpatrick. It was the breakout season that many had been waiting to see, four years after being drafted 14th overall in 2015.

However, Parker's production was different when another big receiver was in the lineup with him.

Enter Preston Williams…

The Colorado State product was a highly touted talent coming out of college but off-field concerns made him tumble right out of the draft and Miami decided to take a shot on him as an undrafted free agent. His final year at Colorado State, the 6’4, 210lb receiver had 96 catches for 1,345 yards and 14 touchdowns. There was no question he was talented, but could he perform at the NFL level?

I think we all know that he answered that question with a very resounding “YES!”

The purpose of this article is to help you figure out which one of DeVante Parker or Preston Williams do you want to have on your team, so let’s get into it.

Here are the numbers for both players when they were in the lineup together:

Preston Williams: 60 targets - 32 catches – 428 yards – 3 TDs

DeVante Parker: 52 targets – 28 catches – 400 yards – 4 TDS

Now I know what you’re thinking, “they are very similar in terms of production.”

True, but remember, one is a former first-round pick who had been in the league four years prior and the other IS AN UNDRAFTED ROOKIE!

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Parker absolutely took off once Williams went down, but he was second on the pecking order when they both played and there is no other way to slice it. Williams was on pace for a season of 120 targets, 65 catches, 856 yards, and 6 touchdowns. I repeat, AS AN UNDRAFTED ROOKIE!

Everyone wants to make a big deal about the rapport that Parker and Ryan Fitzpatrick had over the course of the season, but when the two played with FitzMagic they both accumulated 35 targets.

Here are the numbers when both played with Fitzpatrick as the starter for 5 games:

Williams: 35 targets - 22 catches - 260 yards - 3 TDs

Parker: 35 targets - 18 catches - 246 yards - 2 TDs

This looks like a 1A – 1B type situation in Miami, but one player is going to be much cheaper to acquire.

In redraft leagues, DeVante Parker’s ADP (according to Fantasy Pros) is WR24 and is going in the same range as the likes of DK Metcalf, Courtland Sutton, DJ Chark, Keenan Allen and Stefon Diggs. Give me all of those receivers ahead of Parker, who I believe is in for a big regression. Preston Williams’ ADP in redraft leagues (according to Fantasy Pros) is WR50.

That’s 26 spots higher, for the Miami Dolphins WR1 - in my opinion of course.

In dynasty leagues, if you have Parker, you should SELL, SELL, SELL! His value will never be higher than it is currently and as we know, dynasty leagues should be treated like the stock market, sell assets high and buy them low. What would it take to get Preston Williams in dynasty? There are plenty that aren’t high on him and a 2021 second-round pick should absolutely get it done.

“Preston Williams, Miami’s WR1”

I like the sound of that!

Thank you for reading my debut article with TNFF. Do you agree or disagree with my analysis? Please leave a comment or let me know @DynastyMattFF

Editor: Joe Simonetti (@joesimonetti77)