Number 94 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

Christian Wilkins gave some stability to the number after it changed hands regularly after Randy Starks did it proud a decade ago

Christian Wilkins / Jim Rassol / USA TODAY NETWORK

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 94.

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, and Tim Bowens at 95.

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

LB Larry Kolic (1986), LB Tim Pidgeon (1987), DE Greg Mark (1990), DE Craig Veasey (1993-94), DT Steve Emtman (1995-96), DT Jermaine Haley (2000-02), DT Dario Romero (2003-04), NT Keith Traylor (2005-07), DT Randy Starks (2008-14), DT C.J. Mosley (2015), DE Mario Williams (2016), LB Lawrence Timmons (2017), DE Robert Quinn (2018), DT Christian Wilkins (2019-23)

The debate on the best 94 on the Dolphins

There had been a lot of turnover with this number, but Christian Wilkins made the number his own after he became in 2019 the sixth player in as many seasons to wear 94. While he never made the Pro Bowl, Wilkins gave the Dolphins five good seasons (particularly his last one) before he signed that monster contract with the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason. As such, Wilkins does merit consideration here. But it's difficult not to go here with Randy Starks. When he signed as a free agent in 2008, it didn't attract a ton of attention, but he was an ascending player who just got better with the Dolphins. By the time he was done in Miami, Starks had been a six-year starter at defensive tackle in 4-3 schemes and at both nose tackle and defensive end in 3-4 looks. Oh, and he was a two-time Pro Bowl selection. The other players wearing 94 who made an impact were mostly run stuffers who did their work out of the spotlight. That would include players like Jermaine Haley, Dario Romero and Keith Traylor. Mario Williams, Lawrence Timmons and Robert Quinn all were high-profile players who didn't deliver as expected, although Quinn did lead the Dolphins in sacks in 2018 with 6.5. Steve Emtman and Mario Williams both joined the Dolphins after being the first overall draft pick for another team, Emtman for the Colts in 1992 and Williams for the Texans in 2006.

The top three Dolphins players with number 94

1. Randy Starks

2. Christian Wilkins

3. Keith Traylor

Where No. 1 ranks among the NFL's all-time best

The number 94 has produced two Hall of Famers around the NFL, pass rushers DeMarcus Ware and Charles Haley, along with longtime star pass rusher Chad Brown and current New Orleans Saints defensive lineman Cameron Jordan. Starks probably doesn't merit top 10 standing among all number 94's, but top 20 isn't necessarily ridiculous. And Wilkins could get there eventually if his career continues at a high level for a few more seasons.