Number 22 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

It's running backs from different eras who lead the way

Miami Dolphins running back (22) Tony Nathan in action against the Buffalo Bills at the Orange Bowl in 1986. / RVR Photos-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 22.

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, and CB Patrick Surtain at 23.

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 22 for at least one regular season game:

DB Willie West (1966-68), RB Mercury Morris (1969-75), RB Tony Nathan (1979-87), RB Kerry Goode (1989), CB Tim McKyer (1990), RB James Saxon (1992-94), S Shawn Wooden (1996-99, 2001-04), CB Terrance Shaw (2000), RB Jesse Chatman (2005), RB Lee Suggs (2006), CB Michael Lehan (2007-08), RB Kory Sheets (2009-10), RB Clifton Smith (2010), RB Reggie Bush (2011-12), CB Jamar Taylor (2013-15), RB isaiah  Pead (2016), S T.J. McDonald (2017-18), RB Zach Zenner (2019), RB Mark Walton (2019), CB Tae Hayes (2019), RB Matt Breida (2020), DB Elijah Campbell (2021-23)

The breakdown of 22 with the Dolphins

Lot of significant contributors with long stays in Miami when it comes to number 22. Mercury Morris was the speed guy in the Dolphins' devastating running back trio in the early 1970s with Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick. Morris rushed for exactly 1,000 yards in the perfect season of 1972 and followed that with 954 yards in 1973, with 22 rushing touchdowns in those two seasons. He also had three kickoff returns for touchdowns, including a team-record 105-yard return as a rookie. Like Morris a third-round pick, Nathan was an All-Pro as a kick returner as a rookie before he took on a major role as a dual-threat running back. He rushed for 550 yards or more four times in nine seasons, with a high of 782 in 1981, and he had at least 50 catches five times, with a high of 72 in 1985. Safety Shawn Wooden, whose seven-year tenure in Miami was interrupted by one year with the Bears in 2000, started 35 of the 93 games he played for  the Dolphins and had five career interceptions. Reggie Bush was highly productive in his two seasons with Miami, rushing for 1,086 yards in 2011 and following that up with 1.006 (in 14 games) in 2012, along with catching a total of 78 passes. He also had that memorable 203-yard rushing performance at Buffalo late in the 2011 season. Willie West joined the Dolphins from the Jets in the 1966 expansion draft and was selected to the AFL All-Star Game that season after coming up with eight interceptions. He started 27 games in his three years in Miami and had 13 picks. Tim McKyer came to the Dolphins in 1990 in a trade with San Francisco for a second-round pick and he was very good in his one season when he started all 16 games and had four interceptions. But the Dolphins traded him to Atlanta the next offseason.

The top three Dolphins players with number 22

1. RB Tony Nathan

2. RB Mercury Morris

3. RB Reggie Bush

Dolphins 22's among the NFL's all-time best

Among all-time greats to wear 22, Emmitt Smith stands out among a small group of Hall of Famers, and new Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry is the headliner among active players. Nathan ranks in the top 20 in the Pro Football Reference Approximate Value rankings, with Morris not far behind.