8 takeaways from the Patriots trading for Dolphins WR DeVante Parker

The New England Patriots added a starting-caliber receiver in DeVante Parker on Saturday after spinning a trade with the Miami Dolphins. New England sent a 2023 third-rounder to Miami in exchange for Parker and a 2022 fifth-rounder.

Parker, a former first-round pick who had enjoyed a fair amount of success against the Patriots, is the typical buy-low acquisition for Bill Belichick. Parker has proven he can be a top-end possession receiver, with 72 catches for 1,202 yards and nine touchdowns in 2019. But since then, his production has declined, including the 2021 season when his hamstring seemed to limit his abilities and he finished with 40 catches for 515 yards and two touchdowns.

Not great.

So New England will hope it can get the 2019 version out of Parker — and they didn’t pay much to get him. Let’s dive into our takeaways about the transaction.

The Patriots have passing game problems and Parker is only part of the solution

The Patriots still don’t have a true WR1 after the Parker trade. That’s just not what New England should expect from him. He only put up that kind of production once. He isn’t a burner (posting a 4.46-second 40-yard dash back in 2015 at the NFL combine). He’s a possession receiver, who should be a big help to quarterback Mac Jones. But Parker isn’t that matchup nightmare that the Patriots seem to need to truly threaten defenses. He is merely an upgrade in a mediocre position group.

That’s why I wouldn’t rule out the Patriots adding another receiver during the 2022 NFL draft. My favorites include buy-low candidates like Alabama receivers Jameson Williams (a likely first-rounder) and John Metchie (a likely second-rounder). Both had torn ACLs, which will hurt their draft stock. Both are truly impressive talents that can make a big impact at the NFL level.

Parker's injury -- and most recently his hamstring -- are troubling

Parker couldn’t play at his top level in 2021 because he was struggling with a hamstring injury which ultimately landed him on injured reserve. He tried battling through but couldn’t — and his production certainly showed he wasn’t at his peak level of performance.

He has had an unfortunate litany of injuries during his NFL career: a shoulder injury in 2013 and another in 2021, a pedal foot fracture (2015), multiple hamstring strains (2016, 2020, 2021), a lower back strain (2016), an ankle sprain (2017), a hand/finger fracture (2018) and a quad strain (2018). That’s not anomalous for an NFL player. (With such a long history, he does project to have a 90% chance of injury in 2022, according to Draft Shark. Take that projection with a massive grain of salt.)

Belichick is buying with hopes Parker will run it back to 2019

We touched on Parker’s big year in 2019. That is surely a big reason why the Patriots are buying low on him. He has enjoyed some substantial highs, particularly in 2019. So it might be interesting to revisit Belichick’s thoughts on Parker following his breakout season in 2019. Belichick discussed Parker prior to Week 1 of the 2020 season, surely having studied the receiver’s 2019 tape intensely.

“He’s got a very, very good skill set. He’s a big athlete that runs well,” Belichick said in Sept. 2020. “Has good hands, good run after the catch ability, and good quickness for his size. So, he presents a lot of problems on deep balls. He’s a big target on the end of routes, in cuts and crossing routes, things like that. He’s strong and can break tackles as a catcher or run player, so he attacks all three levels of the defense and can be productive at all three spots.”

Belichick is always quick to praise an opposing team’s star, so these compliments are likely inflated with positivity.

The Dolphins didn't value him anymore

The Dolphins seemed to give up on Parker. With yet another regime change in Miami, the Dolphins traded for receiver Tyreek Hill and signed receiver Cedric Wilson this offseason. They also had Jaylen Waddle. There was no room on the depth chart for Parker.

So they dumped him off on New England. So the Patriots will look to dust off Parker and get more out of him than Miami. But it’s notable the Dolphins badly wanted an upgrade from him — and that the Patriots feel he is an upgrade. It shows the talent disparity at receiver between the Patriots and the Dolphins.

His contract is reasonable but projects him as a starter

Parker, set to earn roughly $12.55M on the last two years of his deal, will make more than receivers Kendrick Bourne ($5 million per year) and Jakobi Meyers ($3.98 million per year) and substantially less than Nelson Agholor ($11 million per year).

New England is careful about how they scale contracts for incomers, even when they’re inheriting a contract in a trade. So the Patriots likely did this with the idea that Parker will be among the team’s top three receivers.

Parker is likely to do what N'Keal Harry could not

Remember all the things the Patriots were hoping Harry could do when they drafted him in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft?

They wanted Harry to win contested catches, help with touchdown scoring in the red area, move the chains with sure hands and, if nothing else, serve as a bigger body and a viable threat to the defense.

Harry couldn’t do that stuff. But Parker has proven he can. Harry was already likely to be on another roster in 2022. Now it’s practically a certainty.

Nelson Agholor's future is hazy. Even Jakobi Meyers should be concerned.

Agholor struggled enormously in 2021 and did not meet his billing as the team’s top receiver, priced out on a two-year, $22 million deal. The Patriots might not be able to stomach trading him. But if they can, the Patriots would save almost $10 million in cap space (depending upon the top 30 rule). New England could easily consider trading him, even if it means eating $5 million in dead cap space.

Meyers, meanwhile, will likely play for the Patriots in 2022 on his restricted free agent tender. Past that, anything could happen. He’s a trusty target for Mac Jones and doesn’t have the raw physical tools to attract a lot of interest on the open market. That could lead him back to New England in 2023 during free agency. But there are plenty of teams with Patriots connections and Meyers is as good of a locker room presence as there is. Maybe Josh McDaniels (or some other former Patriots coach) will want Meyers.

Parker helps the Patriots secure talent at receiver past 2022.

There isn't enough salary cap space to add DeVante Parker

From a salary cap standpoint, New England may not be able to actually add Parker (yet) — depending upon how large of a cap hit safety Jabrill Peppers will be. The good news is that Peppers’ signing isn’t yet official. So the Patriots may have some time to free up salary cap space.

Where might they do that? The first and best place to start is surely EDGE Matt Judon’s contract. He is, after all, the team’s self-appointed recruiting coordinator. Surely, he’ll tweak his contract to bring in talent.

1

1

1

1