Do The Dolphins Need A True #1 Receiver?

Is Greg Camarillo the Dolphins best wide receiver? Is that a problem?

There seems to be a general consensus that the Dolphins have a dire need for a true big play receiver. Someone over six-feet tall, who can stretch the field and has the size to bully cornerbacks.

I'm here to officially stir the pot.

We don't need one now, but in a year or two we will.

Chad Pennington can't throw to a Larry Fitzgerald. Sure, a big receiver is still wonderful to have when throwing underneath, but the true application of a No. 1 receiver is to stretch the field and create the big play.

I love CP, but he just can't get the ball down field with any relevance. He's a game manager and can only take shots down field when its wide open. Even then it's not a pretty sight. Anyone watch the second Baltimore game last year?

As of right now we have an almost ideal set of receivers for Chad Pennington's game.

Davone Bess is as perfect as they come. He runs perfect routes, particularly shallow comebacks and has an unbelievable cat-quick ability to get up field as soon as the ball is in. He catches anything and was one of the many tremendous finds in last year's draft class (he was undrafted, but you know what I mean). Bess will be with this team for years to come. A paragon of slot receiving (has that ever been said before?).

Greg Camarillo is a wonderful second receiver. At 6'1" and 190 lbs he has decent size and has shown a lot of ability in blocking. His 55 catches in 11 games (torn ACL) was truly a breakout for the now third year receiver. Like Bess, Camarillo runs picture perfect routes and gets up field after the catch, though Camarillo does it in longer, more angle oriented routes. Few people have Bess' quickness to turn those little comebacks into 7 yards a pop. If Camarillo didn't go down in week 11, we'd have been talking about how he got robbed of a Pro Bowl. As of right now, Camarillo is the most complete receiver on the team. If he can fully return from his ACL injury, then I don't see him slowing down any.

Teddy Ginn. The guy's hot or cold but to be honest, the last five weeks of last year Ted Ginn began to emerge as a legitimate (if not world-beating) number one receiver. Ginn has the speed. He lacks in size but with some space and a little steam he can break tackles with the best of them. I don't think we'll see the totality of Ginn's game until Chad Henne arrives under center.

The reality is that for now, we don't need the big receiver. We already have a logjam at the no. 2 spot, so bumping Ginn to no. 2 would just muddle things more. In all honesty, who would you rather have: Ted Ginn, Jr. or Greg Camarillo?

Or if you get a big receiver, who would you rather have in slot: Greg Camarillo or Davone Bess?

See, logjam. Barring a trade (Ginn or Bess) I don't see the need to invest in a WR too highly in the draft. Let's focus on solidifying our defense and improving our offensive line. Our passing game is already the no. 1 reason we won games last year. Let's make it our running game this time.