Number 7 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

Who stands out among group of QBs and kickers?

Miami Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders (7) celebrates with teammates after kicking the game winning field goal against the Dallas Cowboys at Hard Rock Stadium. / Jasen Vinlove-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 7.

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, and S Jevon Holland at 8.

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 7 for at least one regular season game:

DB-P Billy Lothridge (1972), QB Guy Benjamin (1978-79), K Fuad Reveiz (1985-88), K Charlie Baumann (1991), P Joe Prokop (1992), P Dale Hatcher (1993), QB Craig Erickson (1996-98), QB A.J. Feeley (2004-05), QB Chad Henne (2008-11), K Jason Sanders (2018-23)

The breakdown of 7 with the Dolphins

After having only five players with number 8, we've got double that for number 7. Here's the breakdown of the 10 players who have worn it.• Billy Lothridge appeared in two games for the Dolphins in the perfect season at the end of his nine-year pro football career. He punted four times.

• Guy Benjamin appeared in seven games as a backup for the Dolphins over two seasons before he was traded for New Orleans for fourth- and seventh-round choices.

• Fuad Reveiz was the Dolphins kicker for four seasons after arriving as a seventh-round pick in 1985. He made 53 of 72 field goal attempts over those four seasons. He later played five-plus seasons with Minnesota and made the Pro Bowl in 1994.

• Charlie Baumann kicked in two games for Miami in 1991 and made both of his field goal attempts.

• Joe Prokop averaged 37.1 yards per punt in seven games for the Dolphins in 1992. Miami was one of the six teams for which Prokop played during his eight-year NFL career.

• Dale Hatcher averaged 39.7 yards for the Dolphins, who he joined after six seasons with the Rams.

• Craig Erickson, a former University of Miami starter, played for the Dolphins in the last two of his six years in the NFL. He appeared in nine games for Miami and made three starts, going 1-2 in 1996.

• A.J. Feeley arrived in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles whereby the Dolphins gave up a second-round pick for a backup quarterback who had gone 4-1 in 2003 for a team that had reached the NFC Championship Game. Feeley didn't prove starter material in Miami, though, because he lost the quarterback battle in training camp to incumbent Jay Fiedler and then went 3-5 as a starter with a passer rating of 61.7. He was traded to San Diego the following for fellow journeyman QB Cleo Lemon, with the Dolphins have to throw in a sixth-round pick in the trade.

• Chad Henne was selected in the second round of the 2008 draft and went 13-18 as a starter over his four seasons with Miami. Henne is still in the NFL to this day, though he has attempted a total of five passes since the start of the 2015 season.

• Jason Sanders has been a pretty good kicker for the Dolphins and now is the longest-tenured (along with TE Durham Smythe) on the roster. His career highlights include making an impressive 18 of 20 field goal attempts as a rookie in 2018, setting a Dolphins single-game record with seven field goals against the Jets in 2019 (though he did miss one in a one-point loss) and, of course, being on the receiving end of "Mountaineer Shot," one of the greatest plays in franchise history; earning first-team All-Pro honors in 2020; and finally making last-second/minute field goals in the playoff-clinching victories each of the past two seasons.

The top three Dolphins players with number 7

1. K Jason Sanders

2. K Fuad Reveiz

3. QB Chad Henne

Dolphins 7's among the NFL's all-time best

There are eight Hall of Famers who wore mostly 7, and Ben Roethlisberger likely will make nine at some point. The most notable of the bunch would have to be John Elway. And the Dolphins don't have a top 20 candidate here.