The Dolphins are in New England this week, which is a tough matchup, or at least was a year ago. The Patriots have shed a lot of defensive talent since then, while Miami should be improved. But New England's secondary still looks pretty daunting, a cautionary note for those hoping to start DeVante Parker.

Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore is out there doing his thing, and you can bet he'll be spending a lot of time on Parker. When these teams met in Week 2 a year ago, Parker didn't catch any of the 7 passes thrown his way.

But Josh Rosen quarterbacked half of that blowout loss, so there were extenuating circumstances. And when Miami pulled the Week 17 upset at New England, Parker had a big game, catching 8 balls for 137 yards.

Table shows how opposing No. 1s fared against New England a year ago. Not all of those guys were covered by Gilmore at all times, and not all of them are as good as Parker. But in general, it was very tough for wide receivers to get good numbers against New England's secondary. Only two of those guys reached 80 receiving yards, and only two of them scored. Tough matchup.

NO. 1 WRS VERSUS NEW ENGLAND, 2019
PlayerTgtNoYdsTD
Smith-Schuster, Pitt.86780
Parker, Mia.7000
Anderson, NYJ53110
Brown, Buf.115690
McLaurin, Wash.73510
Tate, NYG961021
Anderson, NYJ81100
Beckham, Cle.75520
Brown, Balt.43480
Agholor, Phil.94400
Cooper, Dall.2000
Hopkins, Hou.85640
Hill, K.C.86620
Boyd, Cin.73260
Brown, Buf.41531
Parker, Mia.1181370

If I had drafted Parker as a starter, I would consider benching him for another option. (Parker has also missed some time recently with what seems to be a hamstring issue, so his participation in practice will need to be confirmed later in the week.) But I wouldn't sit him down for just anyone; he proved last year that a big game against this secondary is possible. Odds are against it, though.

--Andy Richardson