Predicting touchdown totals for the Miami Dolphins wide-receivers
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins hope to have a far more productive Tua Tagovailoa in the 2021 season and if he makes the right steps forward, Miami’s offense will shine.
The wide receivers, statistically, will rely primarily on Tagovailoa making those forward moves in his second season. He has a long way to go before he can be considered great, but he doesn’t need to be great to be a winner. Not yet.
Miami has seen fit to make sure that the wide receivers around him are talented and players that can play to his strengths. The question is what kind of statistics are we looking at for the 2021 season, more specifically, what kind of touchdown totals are we looking at? Here is a prediction on what we might see in terms of touchdowns for each receiver in 2021.
Will Fuller: The new receiver on the block can stretch the field and has the speed that Miami likes. He has great hands and can change on the ball as needed. The lowest TD total of his career came his rookie season when he caught two but since then, he has 7, 4, 3, and 8 last year.
Can he make a huge difference in the Dolphins’ offense this year? He should. His game hasn’t changed and the Dolphins should be able to take advantage of his speed and downfield threat ability.
While I do not think that Fuller will eclipse his 8 TDs of last season, I see no reason for him to score five or six times and I think 6 is reasonable.
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DeVante Parker: Parker’s big breakout season in 2019 saw him catch 9 touchdowns but his previous high was only four and he had four last year again. The rest of his career he has had two 1 TD seasons and 1, 3 TD season.
Parker has never really been a big TD threat for the Dolphins and I don’t see him heading back to the 2019 production he had. While I think Miami will still target him quite a bit in the red zone, I don’t see how he can get to nine this year. A more likely prediction would be five given the talent around him.
Preston Williams: Williams has to first stay healthy long enough to be in a position to make plays and contribute. He has seven touchdowns in two seasons and this year should be able to add another three.
Mike Gesicki: With TD totals of 5 and 6 the last two seasons, Gesicki is becoming a go-to threat in the red zone and Tagovailoa should be able to take advantage of his size again this year. I would expect Gesicki to have a huge season and I think he could lead the team in receiving scores in 2021. My prediction is 8.
Jaylen Waddle: Waddle is going to be an interesting player to watch in 2021. As a rookie, he has a lot to learn but his speed is incredible and he can make defenders miss quite easily. The question is how will the Dolphins use him and when? Will he run end-around plays in the red zone? Will he even be on the field in goal-to-go situations? I think the Dolphins will keep him sidelined when the field is shorter because his speed really can’t get used as much unless it is on the ground.
I think Waddle will have an impact on the offense but I would think that three TDs would be a pretty good prediction for his rookie season.
OTHERS: From running backs to wide receivers not listed here, the Dolphins will see additional scores from other players and I would expect those contributions to be around 6 on the season.
If these predictions become a reality and Tagovailoa starts every game, he would have a season that was highlighted by 31 touchdowns for the year. That’s not too bad for a guy that many are calling a bust.