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Philbin: DeVante Parker's Practice Reps This Week 'Have Been Invaluable'

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DeVante Parker starting in the preseason finale came as a surprise to many with the rookie first-rounder missing a large chunk of Training Camp after rehabbing from spring foot surgery.

His head coach likes his development over the course of the last few weeks.

"He's making good progress Joe," Joe Philbin said on the Joe Rose Show. "You remember, being a rookie, everything is kind of brand new and the situation he was in where he wasn't able to participate for a while. You can sit in a meeting and you can learn everything and that's one thing and that's important and it's valuable and it's good but it's another thing when you're a wide receiver to go out there and line up against another human being -- a defensive back --  and run a route and get open, catch the ball and move forward. So the practice reps the last week have been invaluable to him."

Can Philbin envision this new-look Dolphins offense built around Ryan Tannehill going five-wide on Sundays?

"Yeah, I think you can," he said. "Yeah, I think you can. We'll see how the game unfolds but as you mentioned, Joe, it's no secret that we use three wideouts quite a bit and we think we have some good guys that we can throw at the Washington Redskins and I see all those guys contributing."

Sunday will mark the first time this offensive line plays in a game together. What's coach expect?

"I expect our offensive line to play well," Philbin said. "Again I don't know if we've had a guy on the team that's worked any harder than Branden Albert to put himself in position to play in an NFL game. When you consider where he was on November 10 of 2014 and where he is today, it's certainly a testament to his character and his desire to contribute to this football team."

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