Number 56 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

John Offerdahl is the clear choice, but Miami's single-season tackle record holder deserves mention also

Miami Dolphins linebacker John Offerdahl (56) against the Indianapolis Colts at Dolphin Stadium in 1986. / RVR Photos-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 56.

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, and Dwight Stephenson at 57.

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 56 for at least one regular season game for the Dolphins:

LB Bob Bruggers (1966-68), LB Jesse Powell (1968-73), LB Steve Towle (1975-80), LB Charles Bowser (1982-85), LB John Offerdahl (1986-93), LB Mike Crawford (1997), LB Twan Russell (2000-02), LB Derrick Pope (2004-07), LB Kevin Burnett (2011-12), LB Jonathan Freeny (2013-14), LB James-Michael Johnson (2015), LB Donald Butler (2016), DT Davon Godchaux (2017-20)

The breakdown of 56 with the Dolphins

Though not quite as dominant as number 57 Dwight Stephenson, linebacker John Offerdahl is another clear choice for number 1 with this jersey number. Offerdahl made the Pro Bowl each of his first five seasons with the Dolphins after being a second-round pick out of Western Michigan and he ended up starting 86 of the 89 games he played for Miami. Steve Towle was another very good linebacker for the Dolphins, and he started 64 games before injuries took their toll (no pun intended). Towle was the Dolphins MVP in 1976 when he finished with more than 200 tackles. The last spot has to come down to Charles Bowser or Davon Godchaux. Bowser was a member of the Killer B's defense and started 33 games. He had nine sacks during the Dolphins' Super Bowl run of 1984. Godchaux started two-plus seasons and was the team's Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee in 2019 before he left for New England as a free agent. Kevin Burnett started all 32 games he played for the Dolphins after arriving as a free agent.

The top three Dolphins players with number 56

1. LB John Offerdahl

2. LB Steve Towle

3. DT Davon Godchaux

Dolphins 56's among the NFL's all-time best

Lawrence Taylor stands out among the six Hall of Famers who mostly wore 56 and gets the No. 1 spot here. You could make a case for Offerdahl maybe being a top 25 all-time player with that number.