Number 34 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

While he had a roller-coaster stint with the Dolphins, Ricky Williams stand well above his competition

Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams (34) is pursued by Oakland Raiders defensive tackle Tommy Kellly (93) at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in 2010. / Kirby Lee-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 34.

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, and DB Walt Aikens at 35.

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 34 for at least one regular season game:

WR Ron Sellers (1973), RB Jim Braxton (1979), Don Testerman (1980), RB Woody Bennett (1980-88), RB Nuu Faaola (1989), RB Tony Collins (1990), RB Aaron Craver (1991-93), DB Tyrone Braxton (1004), DB Tim Jacobs (1996-97), RB Ron Moore (1998), RB Cecil Collins (1999), RB Thurman Thomas (2000), RB Travis Minor (2001), RB Ricky Williams (2002-03, 2005, 2007-10), RB/KR Marcus Thigpen (2012-13), RB Damien Williams (2014-15), RB Senorise Perry (2017-18), RB De'Lance Turner (2019), RB Jordan Howard (2020), RB Malcolm Brown (2021), CB Parry Nickerson (2023)

The breakdown of 34 with the Dolphins

There is no real debate for the top spot at number 34 because it belongs to Ricky Williams, even though he does have a complicated legacy with the Dolphins. But there's no taking away from the fact he's second on the team in all-time rushing yards and he is the only Dolphins player to lead the NFL in rushing, which he did in 2002 when he had the best individual season in team history outside of Dan Marino's brilliant 1984 record-setting performance. Woody Bennett was claimed off waivers from the Jets by the Dolphins in 1980 and the former University of Miami back went on to start 62 games over nine seasons. He had a big year in 1984 when the Dolphins reached the Super Bowl, as he rushed for 606 yards and seven touchdowns. Marcus Thigpen joined the Dolphins out of the CFL in 2012 and had some interesting highlights. In his first year, he had both a punt and a kickoff return for touchdowns and in 2013 he had the game-winning touchdown in the 24-20 victory against the New England Patriots in Miami. Craver had limited production in his two seasons wearing 34 for the Dolphins, though he did have a great performance (8 carries, 72 yards, 1 touchdown) in a 31-0 victory against San Diego in the 1992 playoffs. Cecil Collins was one of the most physically gifted running backs the Dolphins have ever had, but he arrived as a fifth-round pick with off-the-field issues in his past and he was suspended from the team after eight games as a rookie and eventually released after he was arrested on burglary charges. Thurman Thomas closed out his Hall of Fame career with one season in Miami, but it was cut short by a knee injury. Damien Williams split his four seasons in Miami wearing 34 and 26, and in his two years wearing 34 he had modest rushing totals, though he caught 21 passes each year. ... Howard and Brown both came up short the past two seasons after arriving as unrestricted free agents.

The top three Dolphins players with number 34

1. RB Ricky Williams

2. RB Woody Bennett

3. RB Marcus Thigpen

Dolphins 34's among the NFL's all-time best

Ricky Williams absolutely belongs in the top 10 of all-time 34's, maybe even top five. The top spot probably belongs to Walter Payton, followed probably by the aforementioned Thurman Thomas.