Most Intriguing Training Camp Battles, No. 5: Last WR spots

With unanswered questions at quarterback and a lack of experience (and quite possibly talent) at wide receiver, the Dolphins will likely feature a run-heavy offense in 2008. That being the case, they'll still carry least five receivers on the roster because, well, that's just how things work. The top few spots are likely set, with Ted Ginn, Jr., Ernest Wilford and Derek Hagan essentially locks to make the squad. Beyond that, things are far less certain.

With Tab Perry already out for the season, the remaining two with NFL experience are Greg Camarillo and David Kircus. A Division II standout at Grand Valley State, Kircus has spent time with the Lions and Broncos since 2003. Camarillo, a special teams standout, earned national attention as the overtime hero in the Dolphins' lone victory last season.

I have been of the belief the entire offseason that the No. 4 receiving job would go to one of the aforementioned players and with Perry out of the picture, it comes down to Kircus and Camarillo. Kircus is probably the better receiver, though Camarillo does have some fill-in ability on offense and is also a standout special teamer. In the end, I think Camarillo's special teams prowess wins out. After all, Miami probably won't be going four-wide often anyway.

While teams sometimes carry six receivers (or in some cases, more), I don't see the Dolphins being one of those teams. There are too many other areas that will need extra depth and on a run-oriented team there just isn't much point in keeping six receivers on the squad only to dress four every Sunday.

Going on the assumptions that Kircus or Camarillo grabs the No. 4 job and the Dolphins only keep five total, the final spot will be given to one of five undrafted free agents on the squad. It's clear the Dolphins are hoping to find a potential hidden gem at the position, given that six of the 19 undrafted free agents Miami signed we receivers. (One, Marcel Reece, has since been cut.) Barring any additions to the team during camp, the competition will be between Davone Bess, Jayson Foster, Selwyn Lymon, Justin Wynn and John Dunlap.

The Dolphins simply signed too many for me to go into great detail here, so here's some very brief background info on each:

• Davone Bess, Hawaii (5-10, 190) - by far the most productive of Miami's UDFA receivers, start 39 games in Hawaii's passing attack and catching 293 passes for 3,610 yards and 41 touchdowns
• Jayson Foster, Georgia Southern (5-7, 175) - A former college quarterback, he's small but possesses great moves and quickness; rushed for 3,835 yards and 54 touchdowns in his career
• Selwyn Lymon, Purdue (6-3, 215) - possesses the best size of any Dolphins UDFA receiver; caught 73 passes for 1,030 yards and five touchdowns in two seasons with the Boilermakers; dismissed from team in Nov. 2007 for second drunk driving charge that year
• Justin Wynn, Grand Rapids CC (6-2, 190) - Hasn't played organized football since 2004, when he caught 35 passes for 559 yards and five touchdowns at Grand Rapids CC; instead of playing football in college, did landscaping and worked at Kohl's to support his family; played pee-wee football with Dolphins UDFA receiver Selwyn Lymon and Bills rookie wideout James Hardy
• John Dunlap, NC State (6-1, 220) - the lone player of the group that wasn't signed soon after the draft; instead latched on with the team after trying out at a June minicamp; started 22 of the 42 games he played for the Wolfpack, totaling 85 receptions for 924 yards and seven touchdowns

So who will it be? The good money is on Bess, who is easily the most experiences and polished of the group. Foster is intriguing because of his athleticism and potential special teams impact, but his size limits his potential a receiver. Lymon has great size and some of the betters skills of the group as well, but he'll be on a short leash given his past. As much of a feel-good story as it'd be, Wynn seems like a long shot given his lack of experience. Dunlap is nothing more than a camp body and has the worst chance of the group.

All things considered, the guy that initially wins the job following the preseason might not be guaranteed to stick around. Kerry Reed initially earned a roster spot after final cutdowns only to be relegated to the practice squad when Camarillo was claimed off waivers from the Chargers. With the lack of talent right now, there's no doubt the Dolphins will be scouring the waiver wires come September 1. You can't rule out preseason Keyshawn signing either.

The position(s): Final wide receiver spots

Number of spots: Two

The contenders: Greg Camarillo, David Kircus, Davone Bess, Jayson Foster, Selwyn Lymon, Justin Wynn, John Dunlap

Predicted winner(s): Camarillo and Bess

Reason: Bess has the best hands and the most experience, and although he runs in the 4.6s I feel he has enough speed to be productive in the slot. Quite frankly, I don't see why he couldn't be better than the extremely-overrated Wes Welker. As for the rest of the crowd, I'd peg Foster and Lymon as the most likely practice squad candidates, with Wynn trying to latch on elsewhere and Dunlap pretty much disappearing into oblivion.

Catching up

Well the summer isn't over by a long shot, but it's already been pretty eventful for me. Unfortunately, that has caused me to fall a little behind on my updates here. It feels like I say this every time I post actually, but oh well. Gotta work on that.

So, on that note, let's catch up on some Dolphins-related happenings.

PK Dave Rayner released

Three kickers heading into camp was a little excessive, and the Dolphins decided to give undrafted rookie Dan Carpenter a shot at unseating Jay Feely instead of journeyman Dave Rayner. Parcells has said that Feely's job is far from safe, due primarily to his talkative nature off the field. I for one do not believe Feely loses this job, as he was simply too good last year and Carpenter would have to be flawless to show he's the better guy for field goals. Carpenter definitely has the edge when it comes to kickoffs, but in the end I'm more concerned about the points and Feely was one of the best in the league last year. If he's not Miami's placekicker come September, I'll be surprised.

People finally figure out Tab Perry is on I.R.

A while back when Tab Perry was waived/injured, I explained here that if he cleared waivers (which was practically assured) he'd revert to injured reserve. A bunch of media outlets reports this story wrong, and even the Dolphins website deleted him from the roster altogether for a few weeks. It seems everyone has caught back up now, as the site has re-added Perry to the reserve list section of the roster. Good job, guys.

Cameron Worrell signs with Jets

Former Dolphins safety Cameron Worrell, who missed part of last season with a torn ACL and was released on April 24 after failing a physical, has signed with the division rival New York Jets. I'm actually pretty surprised Worrell was able to pass the Jets' physical. He's by no means a lock to make the team, or without the injury. He abilities are really limited to special teams, and all I can say is if he's starting on your defense then your team has problems.

WR Tab Perry waived/injured

The Dolphins already thin receiving corps got a little thinner this week, as fourth-year wideout Tab Perry suffered a torn Achilles' tendon and will likely miss the 2008 season. Perry, who suffered the injury during a May 24 practice, signed with the Dolphins as a free agent in March.

Contrary to what various media outlets have reported, from the Sun-Sentinel to ProFootballTalk.com, Perry has not been released and is in fact still with the team.

If I may clarify the situation, Perry has been waived/injured, meaning if he clears waivers he will revert to the Dolphins' injured reserve list. While it is quite possible ends up getting an injury settlement from the team and gets released, he is still a member of the team for the time being. It is possible another team claims him off waivers, though this is extremely unlikely as teams rarely claim guys that just suffered season-ending injuries.

Update: It seems that more than a day after ProFootballTalk.com ran their initial story about Perry being released, they've finally learned from a "league source" (as opposed to yours truly yesterday) that Perry has indeed not be cut. Considering the whole waived/injured-to-I.R. thing happens dozens of times throughout the league each offseason, one wonders how a website dedicates to following the league was unaware of how it worked.

Analysis

I've seen quite a few Dolphins fans write this news off as completely irrelevant, and while it's not a tough hit to the team by any stretch it does carry with it some significance.

First, as I'd said in videos earlier this offseason, I felt talent-wise, Perry was one of the better receivers on the team after Ernest Wilford and Ted Ginn, Jr. If he had stayed healthy, I think he would have had a very good shot at the No. 4 job, and even could have challenged Derek Hagan for the No. 3 spot.

The absence of Perry gives every other receiver one less guy to compete with, and thus a better chance to make the roster. However, I guys like David Kircus and Greg Camarillo benefit more, because I feel strongly that the Dolphins will give the No. 5, and likely final, receiver spot to one of the undrafted rookies. Therefore the No. 4 job would likely have been between Perry, Camarillo and Kircus, and the losers of that group would be cut in favor of a rookie for the last spot.

Analysis Video: Wide receiver Tab Perry signed

On March 16, the Dolphins signed wide receiver Tab Perry. Watch the following video for more info and analysis. Enjoy!

Apologies for lack of recent content

First off, let me apologize for being so behind on my analysis of Miami's most recent signings. I am still missing a handful of them, and I need to catch back up.

Unfortunately, school comes first and things have been pretty busy in that department of late. This week especially has been particularly hectic with exams every day of the week. Fortunately, things should cool down a bit after today.

As a result, I should be able to bang out 4-5 analysis videos in the coming days. By my count, I still have to do videos for the signings of Keith Davis, Dave Rayner, Nathan Jones and Tab Perry. Plus, I forgot to do a video for the re-signing of Yeremiah Bell a long time ago so I'd like to get that one done as well.

So again, sorry for the lack of content of late, but be sure to check back over the weekend as I will definitely have some new stuff up.

ERFAs Camarillo, Cobbs and Ndukwe re-signed

The Dolphins re-signed all their remaining exclusive-rights free agents today as wide receiver Greg Camarillo, running back Patrick Cobbs and guard Ike Ndukwe signed their one-year tenders.

Exclusive-rights free agents are players with fewer than three accrued NFL seasons whose contracts had expired. As ERFAs, the three had no negotiating rights with other teams and could only re-sign with the Dolphins or not play football in 2008.

Background & Analysis

Camarillo was claimed off waivers from the Chargers prior to the season opener in 2007. He appeared in 15 games for the Dolphins, catching eight passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns. He also made three special teams tackles.

Despite his heroics in Miami's only win of the season, Camarillo will face stiff competition to make the team. Assuming Miami keeps five receivers, Ernest Wilford, Ted Ginn, Jr. and Derek Hagan are all locks or close to it. Miami could also draft a receiver in the first three rounds which one take up another spot, while players like Tab Perry and David Kircus are more talented receivers than Camarillo. He will likely be in competition with Perry, Kircus, Kerry Reed, Chandler Williams and a couple drafted and undrafted rookies for the last receiver spot. His special teams abilities will help his chances.

Cobbs has nearly all of the past two seasons with the Dolphins after going undrafted in 2006. He is a sub-par rusher and a solid special teams player, and would likely begin the season as fourth on the depth chart at running back if camp opened today. A few more bodies will likely come through cheap free agents or undrafted rookies, and Cobbs will have to earn his spot on the roster with all-around good play. Slowed rehabilitation for Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams would help Cobbs' chances, but he's still going to have his hands full.

Ike Ndukwe was signed by the Dolphins off Baltimore's practice squad in late December after cornerback Andre' Goodman was placed on injured reserve. He was inactive for the season finale against Cincinnati. The 25-year-old Ndukwe has also spent time with the New Orleans Saints Washington Redskins and has bounced between the active roster and practice squad throughout his career. His only regular season game experience came in 2006 with Baltimore. He is also the older brother of Bengals safety Chinedum Ndukwe.

Ndukwe (6-4, 338) is the kind of big-bodied offensive lineman that Parcells loves. He also has a few years of learning experience and is a solid run blocker. Miami is currently lacking a starting left guard, but Ndukwe likely won't get much of a chance at the role. He is, one of only three guards on the roster after Justin Smiley and should have a good chance to compete for a reserve role with Trey Darilek and Drew Mormino, but Miami is likely to add more competition before camp.