Number 4 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

The choice comes down to Kader Kohou and punters

Miami Dolphins cornerback Kader Kohou (4) runs on the field prior to the game Dallas Cowboys at Hard Rock Stadium last season. / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

The countdown to the start of the 2024 regular season is almost over as we continue to honor every day the best players to wear the corresponding number for the Dolphins.

Today, we're at number 4.

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, RB Tony Nathan at 22, RB Jim Kiick at 21, S Reshad Jones at 20, WR/KR Ted Ginn Jr., WR Rishard Matthews at 18, WR Jaylen Waddle at 17, QB David Woodley at 16, WR Davone Bess at 15, and WR Jarvis Landry at 14, QB Dan Marino at 13, QB Bob Griese at 12, QB/RB/TE Jim Jensen at 11, WR Tyreek Hill at 10, QB Jay Fiedler at 9, S Jevon Holland at 8, K Jason Sanders at 7, LB Melvin Ingram at 6, and K Dan Carpenter at 5.

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 4 for at least one regular season game:

P George Roberts (1978-80), P Reggie Roby (1983-92), P Tom Hutton (1999), P Brandon Fields (2007), P Matt Darr (2015-16), P Thomas Morstead (2022), CB Kader Kohou (2023)

The breakdown of 4 with the Dolphins

Only seven players have worn number 4 for the Dolphins, leaving us with few choices here.

• George Roberts was that rare left-footed punter, and he averaged 40.3, 40.2 and 42.6 yards in his three seasons in Miami. His career highlight was perfectly executing an onside punt — yes, onside punt — after the Dolphins gave up a safety against Cincinnati in a 1980 game at the Orange Bowl. The onside punt was a pivotal play in a 17-16 comeback victory.

• Reggie Roby was selected in the sixth round of the memorable 1983 draft, five rounds after the Dolphins got Dan Marino, and he spent 10 seasons in Miami. Roby was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and he led the NFL in punting average in 1991 with a 45.7 figure. Roby stood out because he wore a wristwatch and because his plant foot never got off the ground when he punted.

• Tom Hutton was another left-footed punter and he spent his last of five NFL seasons with the Dolphins in 1999. In 14 games, he averaged 40.8 yards per punt.

• Brandon Fields punted for the Dolphins for eight seasons after being a seventh-round pick in 2007, but he wore number 4 for only his rookie year before switching to 2. In that one season, Fields averaged 43.2 yards per punt. 

• Matt Darr unseated Fields as the Dolphins punter in 2015 after arriving as a rookie free agent from Tennessee. He averaged an impressive 47.6 as a rookie in 2015 before averaging 44.3 his second season. Darr was beaten out by Matt Haack in 2017 and punter four games for the Buffalo Bills in 2018.

• Thomas Morstead served as Dolphins punter for only one season and performed well (46.4 average), his highlight coming with a massive clutch free punt at the end of the Week 3 victory against the Buffalo Bills.

• Kader Kohou switched to 4 last season after wearing 28 as a rookie and started 16 games.

The top three Dolphins players with number 4

1. P Reggie Roby

2. P Matt Darr

3. P George Roberts

Dolphins 4's among the NFL's all-time best

Brett Favre and Alphonso "Tuffy" Leemans are the two Hall of Famers who wore, and they stand out in a group that also includes current players Derek Carr and Dak Prescott. As an all-time great player, Roby probably deserves top 20 consideration here.