Number 16 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

We're now 16 days 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 16.

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

Players who wore 16 for at least one regular season game:

QB Archie Roberts (1967), WR Tom Boutwell (1969), QB David Woodley (1980-83), QB-WR Marcus Vick (2006), QB Tyler Thigpen (2009-10), K Shayne Graham (2011), P Matt Haack (2017), Tanner McEvoy (2018), WR Gary Jennings Jr. (2019), WR Marcus Kemp (2020), WR Antonio Callaway (2020)

The breakdown of 16 with the Dolphins

Eleven players have played a regular season game wearing 16 for the Dolphins, but only two of them did it for more than one season. It makes picking a top three rather difficult.

• Roberts appeared in one game in 1967 as a backup and completed 5 of 10 passes for 11 with one interception.

• Boutwell played in five games, all as a backup, and caught four passes.

• David Woodley was an eighth-round pick who started 11 games as a rookie after Bob Griese was injured and went on to compile a 27-12-1 record as a starter. Woodley also was effective as a scrambler. He was replaced by Don Strock in the 1981 playoff game classic against the San Diego Chargers and a 4-for-14 performance in the 1982 Super Bowl against Washington after being almost flawless in earlier playoff victories that year against New England and San Diego. Woodley also has the distinction of being the Dolphins' starting quarterback before Dan Marino took over.

• Marcus Vick, the brother of Michael Vick, played his one NFL game with the Dolphins on Christmas night 2006 against the Jets, but didn't record any statistics. 

• Thigpen appeared in six games with one start over two seasons, and that one start ended in a 16-0 shutout loss against the Chicago Bears in a Thursday night game.

• Graham played two games in 2011 to fill in for injured kicker Dan Carpenter and was 4-for-5 on field goals and 6-for-6 on extra points.

• Before he switched to his current number 2, Haack wore 16 as a rookie in 2017 when he averaged 44.5 yards and failed to connect on his first NFL pass attempt.

• McEvoy played two games for the Dolphins in 2016 and his action consisted of 37 special teams snaps.

• Jennings was claimed off waivers from the Seahawks in 2019 and he played only one game for Miami before suffering a season-ending injury on the opening kickoff.

• Callaway and Kemp each had brief stints in 2020.

The top three Dolphins players with number 16

1. QB David Woodley

2. P Matt Haack

3. K Shayne Graham

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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.