Number 4 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

We're now four 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

Kevin Hoffman-USA Today Sports

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 4.

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; 22. RB Tony Nathan; 21. RB Jim Kiick; 20. S Reshad Jones

19. WR-KR Ted Ginn Jr.; 18. WR Rishard Matthews; 17. QB Ryan Tannehill; 16. QB David Woodley; 15. QB Earl Morrall; 14. WR Jarvis Landry; 13. QB Dan Marino; 12. QB Bob Griese; 11. WR-RB-TE Jim Jensen; 10. K Olindo Mare

9. QB Jay Fiedler; 8. QB Matt Moore; 7. K Jason Sanders; 6. QB Jay Cutler; 5. K Dan Carpenter

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)

The breakdown of 4 with the Dolphins

Only five 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 highlighted 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.

The top three Dolphins players with number 4

1. P Reggie Roby

2. P Matt Darr

3. P George Roberts

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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.