Number 15 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

How high up the list is Jaelan Phillips?

Miami Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips (15) celebrates after sacking New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (10) during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium last season. / Jasen Vinlove-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 15.

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, and WR Jaylen Waddle at 17.

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 15 for at least one regular season game:

QB John Stofa (1966-67), QB Kim Hammond (1968), K Karl Kremser (1969-70), RB Charles Leigh (1971), QB Earl Morrall (1972-76), QB Kyle Mackey (1987), WR Kirby Dar Dar (1995), WR Ronald Bellamy (2004), WR Kerry Reed (2007), WR Davone Bess (2008-12), WR Damian Williams (2014), WR Justin Hunter (2016), WR Albert Wilson (2018-19), WR Lynn Bowden Jr. (2020), OLB Jaelan Phillips (2021-23)

The breakdown of 15 with the Dolphins

After we were in single digits for numbers 16 and 17, there's a longer list of players at number 15, and some good options for a top three. Earl Morrall was 38 when he joined the Dolphins in 1972 to back up Bob Griese, and went on to earn team MVP in the perfect season after starting the last nine games, though he gave way to Griese at halftime of the AFC Championship Game. Morrall would start one game each of the next three years, going 2-1 in those three starts. Davone Bess made the Dolphins roster as an undrafted free agent and proceeded to average 64 catches in his five seasons. His 54 catches in 2008 represents the highest total for a Miami rookie free agent. Bess also had three seasons where he averaged more than 11 yards on punt returns. Wilson started 12 games in three seasons with the Dolphins, but never was able to regain his earlier form after he sustained a serious hip injury in 2018. Phillips made an immediate impact for the Dolphins, setting the team rookie record with 8.5 sacks in 2021 after being the 18th overall selection in the draft. Phillips has been a very good first-round pick with 22 sacks in three seasons, including an impressive 6.5 in eight games in 2023.

The top three Dolphins players with number 15

1. WR Davone Bess

2. OLB Jaelan Phillips

3. QB Earl Morrall

Dolphins 15's among the NFL's all-time best

There's only one Hall of Famer who wore 15, and that's Bart Starr, but the best 15 of all is current Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes. One of the top 15's of all time is former Dolphins wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who wore that number throughout his NFL career except for his two seasons in Miami, where he donned number 19.