Three Miami Dolphins players on the rise entering the Buffalo game

It’s Wednesday of the Miami Dolphins vs. Bills week and I’m still fired up after last week’s win. Beating the Buffalo Bills in week two would be an amazing start to the season.

Now that we’ve put the pads on and have actually played a game, it’s time to take a look at three Dolphins players who could be considered “on the rise” heading into the home opener.

DeVante Parker

Parker is a polarizing player within the Dolphins fan community. I don’t think anyone doubts his talent, it’s the ability to stay healthy that garners the most criticism . Parker struggled once again this offseason by being nicked up. The chatter from fans was “here we go again.” Parker came out in week one and posted a strong performance by catching 4 of his 7 targets for 81 yards. He once again made the Patriots cornerbacks eat crow. I’m looking at you J.C. Jackson! Jackson was running his mouth not only before the game, but after the loss as well. Not a great look J.C. What I liked about Parker’s day was of his 81 yards, 30 came after the catch. This led the team. Parker isn’t typically looked at as a YAC guy so it was great to see his success in the YAC game. If he can keep this up it bodes well for the Dolphins defense going forward.

Jerome Baker

Many will argue with this selection because a common theme on Dolphins twitter was that Baker didn’t play that well. I’d argue that he played exactly how Coach Flores wanted him to. Baker finished the game with a team leading 12 total tackles (8 solo 4 asst). I think the big reason Baker didn’t flash on camera was due to the game plan the Dolphins employed against New England. It was obvious that Miami was going to let Michael McCorkle Jones have the check downs all day. The job of our linebackers was to make sure they tackled well. That’s what Jerome Baker did. While not flashy, it kept the Patriots from making big, game changing plays due to missed tackles. Sometimes being a stand out is doing exactly what your coach asks you to do. I look for Jerome to be much more active in the pass rush game this week where he can match his athleticism up with Josh Allen’s. Jerome’s willingness to simply do his job shows leadership and why I feel his stock is on the rise.

Xavien Howard

It may sound crazy to say Xavien Howard is a player on the rise considering how well he played after last season but I’m going to make the case. There were points in the game last week where I wondered if Howard was even on the field. New England made a concerted effort to not throw the ball Howard’s way. I don’t blame them. So, what does Howard do? He gets involved in other ways. Xavien contributed 5 tackles (4 solo, 1 asst) a pass defensed and a game changing strip and recovery on a drive late in the game that ended what was almost a certain Patriots lead changing scoring drive. Big time players make big time plays. Cornerbacks typically aren’t big contributors in the run defense game but that play by Howard was arguably the biggest play of the day. This week will be different as Buffalo will undoubtedly challenge Howard more than New England did and I look for Xavien to be up to the challenge.

The Dolphins could be in the cat bird’s seat after week two with a win over Buffalo, for that to happen the Phins will undoubtedly need these three players, and more, to rise to the occasion.