Number 79 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

Super Bowl starting tackle Wayne Moore is the only Dolphins 79 selected to the Pro Bowl

Defensive end Derrick Shelby before a game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in 2014. / Chris Humphreys-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 79.

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, and Irving Fryar at 80.

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

DT Al Dotson (1966), T Mike Current (1967), DT Claude Brownlee (1967), DT Jim Urbanek (1968), T Wayne Moore (1970-78), T Jon Giesler (1979-88), T Ike Readon (1987), DE Donnie Gardner (1991), DT Larry Webster (1992-94), T Billy Milner (1995-96), DE Kenny Mixon (1998-2001), DE Ronald Flemons (2004), T Anthony Alabi (2006-07), T Pat McQuistan (2010), DE Derrick Shelby (2012-15), T Sam Young (2016-18), T Larnel Coleman (2022)

The debate on the best 79 on the Dolphins

As we arrive to numbers in the 70s, we're now going to be looking at linemen on both offense and defense. The Dolphins have had two first-round picks wearing 79, but only one player who made the Pro Bowl. That one player was tackle Wayne Moore, who started 72 games for the Dolphins in the 1970s, including 12 in 1973 when the Dolphins won the Super Bowl for a second consecutive season. Moore earned his one Pro Bowl selection during that season. Jon Giesler was a nine-year starter after being a first-round pick in 1979 and, while he never made the Pro Bowl, his performance consistently was impressive. Mixon started three of his four seasons with the Dolphins and he was a valuable contributor, even though his statistics weren't overwhelming. Shelby started only nine games for the Dolphins, but he was a very good backup defensive lineman for three-plus seasons. Milner became a first-round bust after he started the final nine games of the 1995 season and was traded to the Rams early in 1996 for tight end Troy Drayton. ... Webster went on to play seven more seasons in the NFL after leaving the Dolphins.

The top three Dolphins players with number 79

1. T Jon Giesler

2. T Wayne Moore

3. DE Kenny Mixon

Dolphins 79's among the NFL's all-time best

There are two players in the Hall of Fame who wore mostly 79 — Roosevelt Brown and Bob St. Clair. Other notable players to wear 79 include Ray Childress and Harvey Martin. No Dolphins player here would rank in the top 20.