Number 26 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

We're now 26 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

Author:
Alain Poupart
Updated:
Aug 13, 2022 9:10 AM EDT
Original:
Aug 13, 2022

In this story:

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 26.

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

Players who wore 26 for at least one regular season game:

WR Frank Jackson (1966-67), CB Lloyd Mumphord (1969-74), WR Duriel Harris (1976), CB Donovan Rose (1986-87), S Jarvis Williams (1988-93), S Bracy Walker (1997), RB Lamar Smith (2000-01), RB Leonard Henry (2002-04), S Travares Tillman (2005-07), RB Lex Hilliard (2009-11), RB Lamar Miller (2012-15), RB Damien Williams (2016-17), S Maurice Smith (2018), S Steven Parker (2019), RB Salvon Ahmed (2020-21)

The breakdown of 26 with the Dolphins

There's no slam-dunk top choice for number 26, or even a clear-cut second or third choice. After arriving as a 16th-round pick in the 1969 draft, Mumphord went on to play 77 games with 33 starts for the Dolphins. He had five interceptions in 1969 and 1970 and then added four picks during the perfect season of 1972 even though he didn't start one game that season. Jarvis Williams was a second-round pick in 1988 and he started 83 of the 91 games he played for the Dolphins, including all 16 games each of his first three seasons. His best season came in 1990 when he had five interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown. Lamar Smith holds a special place in Dolphins history for his remarkable effort in the 2000 playoff game against Indy when he rushed for 209 yards and the game-winning touchdown in overtime. That, of course, was the last time the Dolphins won a playoff game. Smith rushed for 1,139 yards and 14 touchdowns that season and followed that with 968 yards and six touchdowns in 2001 before he moved on to Carolina the next offseason after the Dolphins traded for Ricky Williams. After a slow rookie season, Miller put up solid numbers for the Dolphins as a fourth-round pick from the University of Miami. His best season came in 2014 when he rushed for 1,099 yards, including a team-record 97-yard run in the season finale against the Jets.

Worth noting:

The Dolphins selected Jackson in the expansion draft after he had been selected to the 1965 AFL All-Star Game for Kansas City and he started 13 games in two years. He averaged 19.8 yards on 16 catches in 1966. ... Harris wore 26 as a rookie third-round pick in 1976 before switching to 82, which he wore for the following seven seasons. ... Walker joined the Dolphins in 1997 after he started 30 games for Cincinnati the previous two years and appeared in 12 games as a backup. He then played eight more NFL seasons with the Chiefs and Lions. ... After his three seasons with Miami, Hilliard closed out his NFL career by splitting time between the Patriots and Jets in 2012. ... Williams, who wore 26 and 34 for two seasons during his four-year stint with Miami, recently opted out of the 2020 season after helped Kansas City win the Super Bowl in February.