Number 21 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

Jim Kiick and cornerbacks highlight this list

Miami Dolphins cornerback Brent Grimes (21) celebrates his interception of a pass intende for Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) at Ford Field in 2014. / Allen Eyestone via Imagn Content Services, LLC

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 21.

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, and RB Tony Nathan at 22.

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 21 for at least one regular season game:

HB-K Gene Mingo (1966-67), RB Jim Kiick (1968-74), S Rick Volk (1977-78), DB Tate Randle (1987), RB Mark Higgs (1990-94), RB Lawrence Phillips (1997), S Rayna Stewart (1998), RB Autry Denson (1999-00), CB Terry Cousin (2001), CB Jamar Fletcher (2002-03), S Antuan Edwards (2004), CB Travis Daniels (2005-06), CB André Goodman (2007-08), CB Vontae Davis (2009-11), CB Deandre Presley (2012), CB Brent Grimes (2013-15), S Jordan Lucas (2016-17), RB Frank Gore (2018), S Eric Rowe (2019-22), S DeShon Elliott (2023)

The breakdown of 21 with the Dolphins

The Dolphins haven't had quite as much success with 21 as they have with 22 or 23, but there still have been several major contributors. The first was Jim Kiick, who was an AFL All-Star his first two seasons after arriving as a fifth-round pick and was a key contributor on the Dolphins' Super Bowl teams of the early 1970s. Kiick, who died in June 2022, rushed for at least 521 yards each of his first five seasons, caught 21 or more passes each of his first six, and contributed as a blocker as well. Mark Higgs joined the Dolphins as a Plan B free agent in 1990 and led the team in rushing in 1991 and 1992 when he had more than 900 yards each time. He also had seven rushing touchdowns in that 1992 season. The late Vontae Davis, who sadly passed away this spring, deserves mention as a solid player for MIami. He started 36 games in three years after being a first-round pick in 2009 and had four interceptions in both 2009 and 2011. He went on to earn two Pro Bowl invitations during his time in Indianapolis before he famously retired at halftime of the 2018 season opener when he was a member of the Buffalo Bills. In terms of production, it's tough to beat what Brent Grimes did in Miami. He signed with Miami after tearing an Achilles tendon in the 2012 opener with Atlanta, then proceeded to make the Pro Bowl in each of his three years in Miami while coming up with four, five and four interceptions. Simply put, he was one of the team's most productive players in the 2010s, though his tenure was overshadowed by issues involving his controversial wife, whose name was mentioned by owner Stephen Ross when the Dolphins released Grimes in the spring of 2016. Eric Rowe has proven to be a great pick-up from 2019, even though his role diminished last season.

The top three Dolphins players with number 21

1. RB Jim Kiick

2. CB Brent Grimes

3. CB Vontae Davis

Dolphins 21's among the NFL's all-time best

There are some big-time players at the top of the list of players who wore 21, headed by Hall of Famers Deion Sanders and LaDainian Tomlinson and former Dolphins running back Frank Gore, a likely future Hall of Famer himself. As for Kiick and Grimes, they probably deserve recognition somewhere around the top 20 among all-time 21's.