Number 72 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

Tackle Terron Armstead quickly joined the top of the list among players to wear 72

Tackle Terron Armstead before the Dolphins' 2023 game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. / Mark Konezny-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 72.

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, and Branden Albert at 76, Manny Fernandez at 75, Mark Dennis at 74, and Bob Baumhower at 73.

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

DL Whit Canale (1966), DT Bill Keating (1967), LB Rudy Barber (1968), DT Bob Heinz (1969-77), DT Mike Fultz (1981), Richard Bishop (1982), T Ronnie Lee (1984-89), G Steve Jacobson (1987), DE Karl Wilson (1993), T Tom McHale (1995), DT Barron Tanner (1997-98), G-T Vernon Carey (2004-11), T Will Yeatman (2012-13), T Jeff Linkenbach (2015), T Isaiah Prince (2019), T Terron Armstead (2022-23)

The debate on the best 72 on the Dolphins

The number 72 had failed to produce a single Pro Bowl season for the Dolphins until Terron Armstead arrived in 2022, though the fact he's only been around for two years has to factor in his ranking with this number. Besides Armstead, there are three players who clearly stand out here. A second-round pick in 1969, Bob Heinz started 55 games for the Dolphins, including eight during the perfect season of 1972 and all 14 when Miami repeated as Super Bowl champion in 1973. Ronnie Lee started 62 games in six seasons wearing 72 for the Dolphins in what was a second stint after he had started 37 games as a tight end from 1979-82. Vernon Carey started the last seven of his eight years in Miami, moving from right tackle to left tackle to right guard.

The top three Dolphins players with number 72

1. T Terron Armstead

2. DT Bob Heinz

3. G-T Vernon Carey

Dolphins 72's among the NFL's all-time best

Longtime Cardinals tackle and later NFL TV analyst Dan Dierdorf is the only Hall of Famer who mostly wore 72, and other notables at the number include Ed "Too Tall" Jones and Brad Hopkins. Armstead's body of work with Miami wouldn't put him anywhere near the top but when you add his play with the New Orleans Saints before that, he probably deserves a spot in the top 10.