DeVante Parker is a legit fantasy option for 2020

What was behind DeVante Parker’s big 2019?

Parker was able to put these numbers up with a draft bust in Josh Rosen and an aging Ryan Fitzpatrick for the majority of the season. Not to mention that the Dolphins didn’t have many other weapons to turn to in their offensive attack. Even though defenses were supposed to mainly key in on Parker, he still somehow managed to produce at a higher level than he ever did when Ryan Tannehill was under center.

This wasn’t something where Parker just exploded during a certain span in the season that gave him these impressive numbers. He was producing at a pretty steady rate for most of the season and that is key. Consistency is very comforting for fantasy managers and Parker delivered just that during his 2019 campaign.

Of course, the first half of the season may have been a little slower in terms of yardage with Parker, but he only dipped under 55 receiving yards just one time in the first nine games of the season. And when his receiving production was lower in the first half, he was able to back it up with touchdowns as he had four of them in that span.

Then his production spiked in mid-November, and that is when everyone began clamoring to claim him off the waiver wire as the fantasy playoffs were fast approaching. Between Week’s 10-17, Parker was WR-2 in half PPR formats with Michael Thomas only producing at a higher rate within that span. During that stretch, Parker saw 76 targets come in his direction and he caught 44 of them for 802 yards and five touchdowns.

He averaged 16.5 points per game in half PPR formats which was the third-most among active receivers in that eight-week period. Parker was performing at an extraordinary level and was a big cause for a lot of fantasy team’s championships this year. He became one of the biggest mid-season waiver wire acquisitions which I’m sure no one would have suspected earlier on in the year.

The question now remains whether or not he can continue to play this well heading into next year. It’s likely the Dolphins will draft a quarterback come April as they know Ryan Fitzpatrick is not the answer to their problems. If Miami does elect to draft a quarterback out of college this spring, then there will be speculation as to whether or not the young rookie will immediately start come Week 1 of the 2020 regular season.