The Miami Dolphins spent most of this offseason rebuilding their offense in order to help Ryan Tannehill excel in 2015. The Dolphins released veteran wide receivers while trading away large contracts in order to upgrade with youth and athleticism. With players like DeVante Parker coming in along with Jay Ajayi, are certain veterans going to be pushed out of the mix in the upcoming season?
According to NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal, Jennings is one of the veterans that were hurt by the NFL Draft. With their first-round pick, the Dolphins selected Parker who is expected to contend for a starting spot which might force players like Jennings and Kenny Stills out of the rotation. Rosenthal writes that Jennings signed with the Dolphins with the expectations that he would be a starter, but the depth chart could easily feature Jarvis Landry and parker as the top two receivers. That would leave either Jennings or Stills on the bench.
Jennings fought for a contract in free agency. The wide receiver was released by the Minnesota Vikings and said he wanted to sign a multi-year contract with a contending team. Jennings was the leading receiver last year with Minnesota, but his age certainly did not help his case. Miami ended up giving the veteran a two-year deal worth $8 million including $3 million in guaranteed money. Jennings will likely make the team with that kind of contract, but there is a real chance he will not start.
In an interview with the Miami Herald, Parker made it clear that he is ready to make an impact immediately. The receiver was considered the third best available behind Amari Cooper and Kevin White and the Dolphins jumped when he was still available. General manager Mike Tannenbaum made it clear that the team took the approach of the more wide receivers the better for Tannehill.
"Obviously you know that has to come together with [quarterback] Ryan [Tannehill] and the receivers and obviously three new players," Tannenbaum said, via Bleacher Report. "But what we feel good about is that coach obviously has a familiarity with Greg Jennings and did a lot of research on Kenny Stills. ... I think that [Parker]'s a great example of the tape sets the floor and the character sets the ceiling, and where this group could go is going to be really exciting to watch."
While there is a battle at the wide receiver position, there likely will not be one at the running back spot. According to the Miami Herald the Dolphins are set on Lamar Miller being the No. 1 guy for the team while Ajayi is expected to be the back up.
