Number 14 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

Jarvis Landry clearly stands out, but who follows him?

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry (14) runs against Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Steven Nelson (20) in the first half at Arrowhead Stadium in 2017. / Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

The countdown to the start of the 2024 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 14.

The top players at each number so far have been DE Jason Taylor at 99, DT Jared Odrick at 98, DE Phillip Merling at 97, DT Paul Soliai at 96, DT Tim Bowens at 95, DT Randy Starks at 94,  DE Trace Armstrong at 93, LS John Denney at 92, DE Cameron Wake at 91, DE/OLB Marco Coleman at 90,  WR Nat Moore at 89, TE Keith Jackson at 88, TE Andre Tillman at 87, WR Oronde Gadsden at 86, LB Nick Buoniconti at 85, DE Bill Stanfill at 84, WR Mark Clayton at 83, WR Brian Hartline at 82, WR O.J. McDuffie at 81, WR Irving Fryar at 80, T Jon Giesler at 79, T Richmond Webb at 78, LB A.J. Duhe at 77, T Branden Albert at 76, DT Manny Fernandez at 75, T Mark Dennis at 74, NT Bob Baumhower at 73, T Terron Armstead at 72, T Todd Wade at 71, DE Kendall Langford at 70, G Keith Sims at 69, G Robert Hunt at 68, G Bob Kuechenberg at 67, G Larry Little at 66, OL Jeff Dellenbach at 65, G Ed Newman at 64, G Mark Dixon at 63, C Jim Langer at 62, C Tim Ruddy at 61, G Bert Weidner at 60, LB Doug Swift at 59, LB Kim Bokamper at 58, C Dwight Stephenson at 57, LB John Offerdahl at 56, LB Earnest Rhone at 55, LB Zach Thomas at 54, LB Bob Matheson at 53, LB Channing Crowder at 52, LB Bryan Cox at 51, LB Larry Gordon at 50, CB William Judson at 49, CB Gerald Small at 48, S Glenn Blackwood at 47, S Don Bessilieu at 46, CB Curtis Johnson at 45, CB Paul Lankford at 44, LB Andrew Van Ginkel at 43, WR Paul Warfield at 42, FB. Keith Byars at 41, S Dick Anderson at 40, FB Larry Csonka at 39, CB Calvin Jackson at 38, CB J.B. Brown at 37, FB Don Nottingham at 36, DB Walt Aikens at 35, RB Ricky Williams at 34, RB Karim Abdul-Jabbar at 33, RB Kenyan Drake at 32, and S Brock Marion at 31, RB Ron Davenport at 30, CB Sam Madison at 29, CB Don McNeal at 28, CB Terrell Buckley at 27, S Jarvis Williams at 26, CB Xavien Howard at 25, RB Delvin Williams at 24, CB Patrick Surtain at 23, RB Tony Nathan at 22, RB Jim Kiick at 21, S Reshad Jones at 20, WR/KR Ted Ginn Jr., WR Rishard Matthews at 18, WR Jaylen Waddle at 17, QB David Woodley at 16, and WR Davone Bess at 15.

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.

Players who wore 14 for at least one regular season game:

QB Scott Stankavage (1987), QB Doug Pederson (1993), QB Scott Zolak (1999), QB Brian Griese (2003), WR Marlon Moore (2010-13), WR Jarvis Landry (2014-17), WR Brice Butler (2018), QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (2019-20), QB Jacoby Brissett (2021), QB Mike White (2023)

The breakdown of 14 with the Dolphins

Here's a quick look at all 11 players who wore 14 in a game for Miami: Scott Stankavage was the backup quarterback for the three strike-replacement games in 1987 and he attempted seven passes in those three games. Before he became head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and now the Jacksonville Jaguars, Doug Pederson began his NFL career with seven games as a backup quarterback for the Dolphins, the most famous obviously being Don Shula's record-setting 325th career victory when Pederson came off the bench to help the Dolphins defeat, ironically enough, the Eagles. Three years after playing for the Dolphins, Pederson was back in the NFL with the Packers and went on to play 100 career games with 17 starts over 10 seasons. Scott Zolak appeared in one game as a backup for the Dolphins in 1999 after he had played 54 games for the Patriots the previous seven years. Zolak was 0-for-4 passing for Miami. Brian Griese followed his Hall of Fame father in Miami in 2003 after he played five years in Denver and went 3-2 in five starts. Marlon Moore showed glimpses of potential during his time with Miami, but the one-time rookie free agent caught only 18 passes in 37 games. Jarvis Landry hardly could have been more productive during his four seasons with the Dolphins. The second-round pick from LSU set a Dolphins rookie record with 84 catches in 2014, set the overall franchise record with 110 catches in 2015 and then broke that record (since broken by Tyreek Hill) with 112 catches in 2017 when he made the Pro Bowl for a third consecutive season. Brice Butler started one of the six games he played in 2018 and had six catches. Ryan Fitzpatrick earned team MVP honors in 2019 when he passed for 3,529 yards, led the Dolphins in rushing in his 15th NFL season and he was off to a good start in 2020 before he was benched for rookie Tua Tagovailoa. Jacoby Brissett went 2-3 as a starter serving as Tagovailoa's backup last season. Trent Sherfield had 30 catches as the third wide receiver in 2022, his highlight a 75-yard touchdown on the first play of a December game at San Francisco. Mike White appeared in six games in mop-up duty as the backup QB last season.

The top three Dolphins players with number 14

1. WR Jarvis Landry

2. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick

3. WR Trent Sherfield

Dolphins 14's among the NFL's all-time best

There are five Hall of Famers who wore 14, the only one post-1970 being Dan Fouts. Landry had one more 1,000-yard season after leaving the Dolphins, but he did it while wearing 80 for the Cleveland Browns. Fitzpatrick actually is in the top 10 on Pro Football Reference's Approximate Value Rankings, but that might be the result of him playing 73 seasons (give or take a few).