Number 1 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

We're now one day away from the start of the NFL regular season, so we honor the best players who have worn that number for the Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

The countdown to the start of the 2022 regular season has begun now that we're under 100 days away, so we'll honor every day the best players to wear the corresponding number for the Dolphins.

Today, we're at number 1.

As a reminder about the ground rules, the top three will be determined only by what the players did while wearing that uniform for the Dolphins.

The top players at each number so far have been:

99. DE/LB Jason Taylor; 98. DL Jared Odrick; 97. DT Jordan Phillips; 96. DT Paul Soliai; 95. DT Tim Bowens; 94. DT Randy Starks; 93. DE Trace Armstrong; 92. LS John Denney; 91. DE/LB Cameron Wake; 90. DE/LB Marco Coleman

89. WR Nat Moore; 88. TE Keith Jackson; 87. TE Andre Tillman; 86. WR Oronde Gadsden; 85. LB Nick Buoniconti; 84. DE Bill Stanfill; 83. WR Mark Clayton; 82. WR Brian Hartline; 81. WR O.J. McDuffie; 80. WR Irving Fryar

79. T Jon Giesler; 78. T Richmond Webb; 77. DE/LB A.J. Duhe; 76. T Branden Albert; 75. DT Manny Fernandez; 74. T Mark Dennis; 73. DT Bob Baumhower; 72. DT Bob Heinz; 71. T Todd Wade; 70. DE Kendall Langford

69. G Keith Sims; 68. T Eric Laakso; 67. G/T Bob Kuechenberg; 66. G Larry Little; 65. OL Jeff Dellenbach; 64. G Ed Newman; 63. G/T Mark Dixon; 62. C Jim Langer; 61. C Tim Ruddy; 60. G Bert Weidner

59. LB Doug Swift; 58. DE-LB Kim Bokamper; 57. C Dwight Stephenson; 56. LB John Offerdahl; 55. Earnie Rhone; 54. Zach Thomas; 53. LB Bob Matheson; 52. LB Channing Crowder; 51. LB Bryan Cox; 50. LB Larry Gordon

49. CB William Judson; 48. CB Gerald Small; 47. S Glenn Blackwood; 46. S Don Bessillieu; 45. CB Curtis Johnson; 44. CB Paul Lankford; 43. S Bud Brown; 42. WR Paul Warfield; 41. FB Keith Byars; 40. S Dick Anderson

39. FB Larry Csonka; 38. DB Calvin Jackson; 37. CB J.B. Brown; 36. FB Don Nottingham; 35. DB Walt Aikens; 34. RB Ricky Williams; 33. RB Karim Abdul-Jabbar; 32. RB Kenyan Drake; 31. S Brock Marion; 30. RB Bernie Parmalee

29. CB Sam Madison; 28. CB Don McNeal; 27. CB Terrell Buckley; 26. S Jarvis Williams; 25. CB Xavien Howard; 24. RB Delvin Williams; 23. Patrick Surtain; 22. RB Tony Nathan; 21. RB Jim Kiick; 20. S Reshad Jones

19. WR-KR Ted Ginn Jr.; 18. WR Rishard Matthews; 17. QB Ryan Tannehill; 16. QB David Woodley; 15. QB Earl Morrall; 14. WR Jarvis Landry; 13. QB Dan Marino; 12. QB Bob Griese; 11. WR-RB-TE Jim Jensen; 10. K Olindo Mare

9. QB Jay Fiedler; 8. QB Matt Moore; 7. K Jason Sanders; 6. QB Jay Cutler; 5. K Dan Carpenter; 4. P Reggie Roby; 3. K Andrew Franks; 2. P Brandon Fields

Players who wore 1 for at least one regular season game:

K Garo Yepremian (1970-78), K Tony Franklin (1988), P Matt Turk (2000-01, 2003-04), K Cody Parkey (2017), QB Tua Tagovailoa (2020-21)

The breakdown of 1 with the Dolphins

As was the case with number 2, there are only five choices. The latest is quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who Dolphins fans have to hope eventually becomes the clear choice here.

• Garo Yepremian holds an important place in Dolphins lore. But beyond his game-winning field goal in the Christmas Day Classic of 1971 that launched the Dolphins dynasty and his Football Follies play in Super Bowl VII, Yepremian was good enough to be a two-time All-Pro for the Dolphins and the kicker on the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1970s.

• Barefooted kicker Tony Franklin closed out his 10-year NFL career with five games with the Dolphins in 1989, but during that time he made only 4 of 11 field goal attempts.

• Matt Turk had two two-year stints with the Dolphins and was steady, if unspectacular. He best average with Miami was 41.7 in 2004.

• Cody Parkey spent only one season with the Dolphins, but it was a very good one. Parkey tied the franchise single-season record for accuracy by making 21 of 23 field goal attempts. But he left when he got a lucrative free agent offer from the Chicago Bears, where his stay ended after he missed a potential game-winning field goal in a playoff loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. After appearing in three games for Tennessee in 2019 as an injury replacement, Parkey now is a member of the Cleveland Browns practice squad.

• Tagovailoa joined the Dolphins after a brilliant career at the University of Alabama, but his first two seasons were uneven, even though he produced a winning record as a starter. The hope is that he takes a big jump in his third season with new head coach Mike McDaniel and better personnel around him on offense.

The top three Dolphins players with number 1

1. K Garo Yepremian

2. K Cody Parkey

3. QB Tua Tagovailoa

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Alain Poupart has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989. You can follow him on Twitter at @PoupartNFL.