Number 30 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

We're now 30 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 9, 2022 9:00 AM EDT
Original:
Aug 9, 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 30.

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

Players who wore 30 for at least one regular season game:

RB Sam Price (1966-68), DB Bryant Salter (1976), RB Ron Davenport (1985-89), RB Bernie Parmalee (1992-98), FB Obafemi Ayanbadejo (2003), RB Lamar Gordon (2004), S Lance Schulters (2005), CB Michael Lehan (2006), FB Casey Cramer (2008), S Chris Clemons (2009-13), RB Daniel Thomas (2014), CB Zack Bowman (2015), S Bacarri Rambo (2016), CB Cordrea Tankersley (2017), CB Chris Lammons (2019), CB Nate Brooks (2019), CB Tae Hayes (2020), DB Jason McCourty (2021)

The breakdown of 30 with the Dolphins

Some decent candidates here, but not one Pro Bowl by a Dolphins player wearing 30. Sam Price played 36 games with eight starts after being an 11th-round pick and totaled 313 rushing yards with one touchdown. Ron Davenport played six seasons for the Dolphins after arriving as an eighth-round pick and his best season was his first, as he rushed for 11 touchdowns. Davenport also had two rushing touchdowns in the 24-21 comeback playoff victory against Cleveland in that 1985 season. He also averaged 25 receptions from 1986-88. Bernie Parmalee is one of the most inspiring success stories, as he went from working at UPS to leading the team in rushing twice (in 1994 and 1995) during his seven-year Dolphins career. Of Parmalee's 26 starts with Miami, 22 came during those two seasons when he also scored 15 rushing touchdowns. He has been an NFL assistant coach since 2002 and currently serves as running backs coach for the Falcons. Chris Clemons — not to be confused with the defensive end of the same name who played in the NFL at the same time — started 48 games in five seasons after being a fifth-round out of Clemson. He had four career interceptions.

Worth noting:

Bryant Salter played 12 games with six starts in 1976 after coming over in the trade that sent Pro Bowl safety Jake Scott to Washington. ... Obafemi Ayanbadejo played 16 games with two starts in 2003 in his one season in Miami when he got the chance to play with his brother Brendon. ... Lamar Gordon was acquired for a third-round pick in a trade with the Rams after Ricky Williams abruptly retired in 2004, but Gordon averaged only 1.8 yards per carry in three games before an injury ended his season and his time in Miami. ... Schulters wore number 30 in 2005 when he started all 16 games and had four interceptions. He returned in 2007 wearing 31. ... Lehan started two of 15 games he played in 2006 wearing 30 in his first of two-plus seasons with Miami. ... Daniel Thomas wore 30 in his final of four rather disappointing seasons with the Dolphins after switching from 33. ... Cordrea Tankersley wore 30 as a rookie third-round pick in 2017 and he started all 11 games he played that season. But his career went in the wrong direction after he switched to 23 in 2018 and he recently was waived by the Dolphins.