One increasingly popular opinion amongst Dolfans, as well as the mainstream sports media, is that The Dolphins receiving corps is an area of weakness that should be addressed in the first day, if not the first round, of the draft.  When mentioned in the same sentence as Miami or one of its receivers, the phrase "True #1" is usually paired up with a negative adverb or adjective such as "no", "not", or "lacking".  This article will help dispel the myths surrounding our excellent talent.

As all Phinsiders know, Greg Camarillo has transitioned from a winless-season-saving hero, to a fearless and dependable, over-the-middle receiver with fantastic hands.  During the first 12 games, he was Pennington's go to guy on clutch 3rd downs.  The torn ACL is the only thing that raises any question marks about his playing ability, but from recent reports, it sounds like he is having a speedy recovery.

Ted Ginn drastically improved upon his 2007 performance.  Who can forget that amazing over-the-shoulder grab at the very back of the end zone vs. Seattle?  That's just a little flash of what things will be like in 2010.  Ginn's skills lie in his ability to get over the top of the secondary; a receiver like that can only do so much with a QB like Chad Pennington.  As Sparano pointed out, Ginn's lack of receptions was due to the way he was used.  Drafting another receiver that can burn the secondary will not make Pennington's arm any stronger.

Next up, Brandon London.  This kid did not get a lot of playing time on offense, but Brandon made a heck of an impression when he did.  His diving catch converted a clutch 3rd down during the most important game of the entire season, versus the hated Jets no less.  That is the definition of performing under pressure.  When taken into account that Brandon stands at an impressive 6'4", and he has a great work ethic, it seems he is just a season away from being the end zone threat that Ernest Wilford was supposed to be.

As an UDFA out of Hawaii, Davone Bess is a Rags-to-Riches type story--going from prison in high school to the NFL.   When Greg Camarillo went down for the season, Davone stepped up immediately recording 5 receptions for 87 yards vs. NE in his first ever NFL start.  He followed that up with two strong performances against St. Louis and Buffalo where Bess caught 6 passes for 84 yards and 9 passes for 74 yards, respectively.  Just to put this into perspective, Greg Camarillo started 11 games and only had 3 games over 70 yards, and only one of those was for 80 plus.  Davone did it in his first three.  As the season got colder, and The Dolphins played in frostbitten cities like KC and "New York", Davone had 15 receptions for 121 yards to close out the regular season.  In his first 6 NFL starts, Davone Bess totaled 35 catches for 366 yards, which is an average of 10.5 yards per catch.  These weren't all great passes either; the name Bess conjures an image of an acrobatic, mid-air twist to snag an errant pass that was thrown well behind him.  Bess may not be as tall as Larry Fitzgerald, but he definitely has the hands and the agility to make similar awe-inspiring grabs.

It's time for some more perspective; Davone's first season stacks up nicely against the rookie years of two of the NFL's greatest receivers--Terrell Owens and Larry Fitzgerald.  Terrell Owens started 10 of the 16 games he played in San Francisco and he caught 35 passes for 520 yards with Steve Young at QB.  In 2004 Larry Fitzgerald started all 16 games and had 58 receptions for 780 yards.  Davone Bess started in 6 of 16 games and he recorded a total of 54 receptions for 554 yards.  When his average of just under 6 receptions per start is extrapolated to a full season, Davone may have caught 93 passes for 975 yards.  Those are pretty astounding numbers considering that wide receivers normally take 2-3 years to develop. 

Davone Bess can make people miss, so the 10.5 average yards per catch (as well as the averages of Camarillo and Ginn) can be attributed to Pennington's weak arm.  Pennington only averaged 7.7 yards per completion and this was his second highest season average (not including 2000 where he only had 2 completions), just barely falling short of his 7.8 average in 2002. When the ball takes so much longer to reach it's target, it is more likely that a defensive back is going to be there as soon as a receiver makes the grab.  Pennington's lack of a bullet brings down the average of the entire receiving corps. 

To sum up: Davone Bess has the numbers and the heart to be our "True #1" wide receiver and, when Henne takes over in 2010 or mid/late 2009, Ted Ginn will be a deep threat that defenses must account for with their #1 Corner or with double coverage.  Also, Greg Camarillo is a great slot receiver, and Brandon London is developing into a physical end zone threat.  Taking all of this into account, it just does not make sense for The Phins to draft a wide receiver on Day 1.