Number 76 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

Branden Albert stands out in a nondescript group of players who have worn 76 for a Miami Dolphins regular season none of whom have done it this decade.

Offensive tackle Branden Albert is introduced before the Dolphins' 2016 regular season finale against the New England Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium. / Reinhold Matay-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 76.

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, and A.J. Duhe at 77.

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

DT Tom Nomina (1966-68), DE Jeff Richardson (1969), T Willie Young (1973), DT Don Reese (1974-75), DE John Alexander (1977-78), OL Rod Walters (1980), T Steve Clark (1982-85), T Tom Toth (1986-89), G Tim Irwin (1994), T James Brown (1996-99), T Marcus Spriggs (2001-02), G Chris Liwienski (2007), T Brandon Frye (2008), T Lydon Murtha (2009-10), DT Anthony Johnson (2014), T Branden Albert (2015-16), DE Jonathan Woodard (2018), G Evan Boehm (2019)

The breakdown of 76 with the Dolphins

When it comes to number 76, there frankly aren't a lot of great options for a top three. Even picking one player who stood out is difficult. Branden Albert was a three-year starter for the Dolphins, but he wore 71 in his first season in 2014, made the Pro Bowl in 2015 but then started fading a bit in 2016, though he was part of an offensive line that helped Jay Ajayi have three 200-yard rushing games. The only other possible top choice for 76 would be tackle James Brown, who started all but two games in four seasons with the Dolphins after being acquired in a rare trade with the New York Jets. In his first season in Miami in 1996, Brown helped Karim Abdul-Jabbar became the team's first 1,000-yard rusher since 1978. Among others who wore 76, Tom Nomina started all 30 games he played for the Dolphins during their first three seasons, Steve Clark started five of the 41 games he played over four seasons, and Tom Toth started all 12 non-strike games in the 1987 season. Nobody has worn 76 for the Dolphins in a regular season game this decade.

The top three Dolphins players with number 76

1. T Branden Albert

2. T James Brown

3. G-T Tom Toth

Dolphins 76's among the NFL's all-time best

Albert also wore 76 during his five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs before he joined the Dolphins, but while he was a good NFL player he wouldn't rank among the all-time best with that jersey number. The list of six Hall of Famers who prominently wore 76 is led by Orlando Pace and Steve Hutchinson.