One of the strong suits of the Miami Dolphins offense last season was the play of receiver Kenny Stills. Stills might not have been the NFL’s top receiver last year but he was the most valuable to the Dolphins. His speed alone opened up enough of the field for fellow receivers Devante Parker and Jarvis Landry.
Going into his 5th season in the NFL and 3rd with the Dolphins, Stills may be poised to have the best year of his career. Some would argue that the amount of talent on Miami’s roster is the deepest he’s had since he came into the NFL. While he’s played with future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Bree’s and a handful of gifted receivers, the Saints didn’t have quite the same depth. On game day, Miami will roll with Parker, Stills, Landry, Ajayi, and Thomas, and those are just the starters. There are already whispers from OTAs that their late round receivers or undrafted additions could push for roster spots if not make an impact on game day.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill has to be on cloud nine with the weapons he has. While there is only one ball to go around, that won’t stop Stills from being one of the most productive parts of the offense. Even if he’s not statistically the best receiver on the team, he plays the biggest role. His break away speed will open up plenty of lanes for the underneath game if not force double coverage. If teams switch up to double cover Kenny Stills, they’d still have to account for the rest of the receivers on the field. Opposing defenses will have to choose which of the remaining targets they want to stick man-to-man.
When Miami acquired Kenny Stills from the New Orleans Saints they were unsure just exactly what they’d be getting in return. He had his break out moments but never quite hit his full stride. With Adam Gase at the helm, the offense has been able to focus on using each players skill set to their advantage. 2017 will build on the previous season’s success, let’s just hope Kenny Stills is ready to meet the next challenge after getting his pay day this offseason.