Number 48 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

Long-ago cornerbacks top the list of best players at this latest number, with a recent tight end in the mix

Miami Dolphins tight end MarQueis Gray against the Buffalo Bills late in the 2017 season. / Timothy T. Ludwig-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 48.

The top players at each number so far have been Jason Taylor at 99, Jared Odrick at 98, Phillip Merling at 97, Paul Soliai at 96, Tim Bowens at 95, Randy Starks at 94,  Trace Armstrong at 93, John Denney at 92, Cameron Wake at 91, Marco Coleman at 90,  Nat Moore at 89, Keith Jackson at 88, Andre Tillman at 87, Oronde Gadsden at 86, Nick Buoniconti at 85, Bill Stanfill at 84, Mark Clayton at 83, Brian Hartline at 82, O.J. McDuffie at 81, Irving Fryar at 80, Jon Giesler at 79, Richmond Webb at 78, A.J. Duhe at 77, Branden Albert at 76, Manny Fernandez at 75, Mark Dennis at 74, Bob Baumhower at 73, Terron Armstead at 72, Todd Wade at 71, Kendall Langford at 70, Keith Sims at 69, Robert Hunt at 68, Bob Kuechenberg at 67, Larry Little at 66, Jeff Dellenbach at 65, Ed Newman at 64, Mark Dixon at 63, Jim Langer at 62, Tim Ruddy at 61, Bert Weidner at 60, Doug Swift at 59, Kim Bokamper at 58, Dwight Stephenson at 57, John Offerdahl at 56, Earnest Rhone at 55, Zach Thomas at 54, Bob Matheson at 53, Channing Crowder at 52, Bryan Cox at 51, Larry Gordon at 50, and William Judson at 49.

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 48 for at least one regular season game:

DB Bob Petrella (1966-71), DB Henry Stuckey (1973-74), CB Ken Ellis (1976), Wade Bosarge (1977), CB Gerald Small (1978-83), S Mike Iaquaniello (1991), RB Jim Kitts (1997), FB Kantroy Barber (1999), TE Brody Heffner-Liddiard (2000), TE MarQueis Gray (2016-17), KR Marcus Sherels (2019), LB Calvin Munson (2019-20), TE Tanner Conner (2022), TE Tyler Kroft (2023)

The breakdown of 48 with the Dolphins

There aren't a lot of players who made their mark for the Dolphins wearing number 48, but the best of the bunch clearly was cornerback Gerald Small. A fourth-round pick in 1978, Small started 76 games for the Dolphins, including all but one game from 1979 through his final season with Miami in 1983. Small had 23 picks for Miami, including 16 in his first three seasons with a career-high seven in 1980. Bob Petrella joined the Dolphins as an eighth-round pick in the 1966 AFL draft, though he also was a 12th-round pick of the Vikings in the NFL draft. He played six seasons with the Dolphins, starting 21 games and recording five interceptions. He had three of those picks in 1967 when he started five games. Henry Stuckey joined the Dolphins during the perfect season of 1972, though he didn't play for Miami until 1973 and then started two of 14 games in 1974. MarQueis Gray appeared in every game for the Dolphins in 2016-17 and made seven starts in 2016 when the team reached the playoffs.

The top three Dolphins players with number 48

1. CB Gerald Small

2. DB Bob Petrella

3. TE MarQueis Gray

Dolphins 48's among the NFL's all-time best

As with 49, there's only one Hall of Famer who wore this number, in this case Mel Richter. Other prominent "48's" include Stephen Davis and Wes Hopkins, and Small comes in ninth on Pro Football Reference's Approximate Value rankings for those who wore this number.