Number 22 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

We're now 22 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

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 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.

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

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)

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.

Worth noting:

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. ... Saxon, who started seven games in three seasons with Miami, has been an NFL running backs coach since 2000 and now works for the Arizona Cardinals. ... Jamar Taylor joined the Dolphins as a second-round pick out of Boise State, but could never got rolling in Miami. He played 33 games in his three years with the Dolphins but started only nine games. He has since played with Cleveland, Arizona, Denver, Seattle and Atlanta, and currently is with the 49ers. ... One month after the Dolphins released Pead in 2016 after he had played three games with the team, he was involved in a car accident that cost him his left leg. ... T.J. McDonald started all 75 games he played in his NFL career, including his 22 games with Miami, but no team picked him last year after the Dolphins released him.

The top three Dolphins players with number 22

1. RB Tony Nathan

2. RB Mercury Morris

3. RB Reggie Bush

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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.