Number 20 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

We're now 20 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
Updated:
Aug 19, 2022 9:51 AM EDT
Original:
Aug 19, 2022

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 20.

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

Players who wore 20 for at least one regular season game:

P-TE Larry Seiple (1967-77), S Neal Colzie (1979), RB David Overstreet (1983), RB Rickey Isom (1987), RB Joe Cribbs (1988), RB Marc Logan (1989-91), CB Muhammad Oliver (1994), RB Ray Nealy (1997), RB John Avery (1998-99), CB Ben Kelly (2001), S Lloyd Harrison (2002), S Arturo Freeman (2003-04), CB Kiwaukee Thomas (2005), CB Eddie Jackson (2006), RB Lorenzo Booker (2007), S Chris Crocker (2008), S Reshad Jones (2010-19), S Sheldrick Redwine (2021)

The breakdown of 20 with the Dolphins

As we get to 20, there are two players who clearly stand out, that being Larry Seiple and Reshad Jones. Beyond them, there's a free-for-all for the third spot. Before he became an assistant coach with the Dolphins,

• Seiple spent 11 season as the team's punter while also sporadically playing tight end. His best season at tight end came in 1969 when he started eight games and had 44 catches. As a punter, his career highlight came in the 1972 AFC Championship Game with a long run off a fake punt that set up a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

• Jones came as a fifth-round pick in the 2010 draft and arguably was the Dolphins' best player of the past decade outside of Cameron Wake. Before he was released this offseason, Jones started 113 of the 128 games he played, made the Pro Bowl twice and had six defensive touchdowns (the second-highest total in team history behind only Jason Taylor's nine).

• Neal Colzie, who came out of Coral Gables High, played only one season with the Dolphins but he made it count as he started all 16 games and had five interceptions in 1979.

• Arturo Freeman played his last two of five seasons with the Dolphins wearing 20 after being number 27. His best season with Miami came as number 20 in 2004 when he started nine games and had four interceptions, including his game-clincher in the Dolphins' huge 29-28 Monday night upset of the Patriots.

Worth noting:

David Overstreet was the Dolphins' first-round pick in 1981, but a contract dispute led him to sign with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL and he played in Canada for two seasons. After rushing for 392 yards as a backup for the Dolphins in 1983, Overstreet was killed in a car accident the following June. His son, David Jr., is an assistant coach with the Colts. ... Joe Cribbs joined the Dolphins early in the 1988 season, but the three-time 1,000-yard rusher managed only 21 rushing yards in 12 games and his NFL career ended after that season. ... Marc Logan played 42 games for the Dolphins, mostly as a backup, before he played six more seasons in the NFL with the 49ers and Redskins. He won a Super Bowl with the 49ers in the 1994 season. ... Muhammad Oliver, who played 13 games with two starts for Miami in 1994, is the father of Atlanta Falcons cornerback Isaiah Oliver. ... John Avery was first-round pick of the Dolphins in 1998 who after rushing for 503 yards and a 3.5 average as a rookie was traded to Denver after one game the following year. The selection of Avery was even more disappointing because it came after the Dolphins traded down from 19th to 29th in the first round and the Vikings then took Randy Moss with the 21st pick. ... Lorenzo Booker was a third-round pick in 2007, but he lasted only one season with the Dolphins, who traded him to the Eagles for a fourth-round pick the next offseason after he rushed for 125 and caught 28 passes in seven games as a rookie. ... Chris Crocker had started 46 of 48 the previous three seasons before joining the Dolphins in 2008, but he was waived after playing six games with two starts for Miami. Crocker went on to play 71 games with 56 starts for the Bengals.