Number 7 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

We're now seven 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

Author:
Alain Poupart
Publish date:
Sep 1, 2022 9:00 AM EDT

In this story:

Miami Dolphins

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 7.

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

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 (2018-21)

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, though he's always been better in even-numbered season. As a rookie in 2018, he made an impressive 18 of 20 field goal attempts and then in 2019 he set a Dolphins single-game record with seven field goals against the Jets (though he did miss one in a one-point loss) and, of course, he was on the receiving end of "Mountaineer Shot," one of the greatest plays in franchise history. Sanders then earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2020 before slipping a bit in 2021.