Isaac Asiata — Steve Mitchell-USA Today Sports

Number 68 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

We're now 68 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
Publish date:
Jul 2, 2022 8:00 AM EDT

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 68.

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

OL Melvin Mitchell (1976), T Eric Laakso (1978-84), T Greg Koch (1986-87), T Louis Oubre (1987), G Andrew Green (1995), T Mike Sheldon (1997-99), C Seth McKinney (20002-06), G Ikechuku Ndukwe (2008), G Richie Incognito (2010-13), T Ulrick John (2015), G Isaac Asiata (2017-18), G Evan Brown (2019), G/T Robert Hunt (2020-21)

The breakdown of 68 with the Dolphins

Unlike number 69, there's a real debate to be had with this number. The late Eric Laakso was a fourth-round pick out of Tulane in 1978 who started at right tackle from 1980 through the first four games of the 1984 season. Laakso, who died in 2010 at the age of 54, never made the Pro Bowl but was a solid starter. Even though he was a third-round selection, Seth McKinney was the Dolphins' top draft pick in 2002 and he started in both 2004 and 2005 before he spent all of 2006 on IR with a neck injury and was released the following year. He played three more seasons with the Browns and Bills. Richie Incognito was a starting guard for the Dolphins from the time he joined the team as a free agent in 2010 to the time he was suspended in 2014 for his role in the "Bullygate" scandal. Incognito was a really good offensive lineman for Miami, making the Pro Bowl in 2012, but the circumstances surrounding his departure have to be weighed in when honoring the top players to wear 68. Robert Hunt is off to a good start in his NFL career as a two-year starter.

Worth noting

Melvin Mitchell played 19 games for the Dolphins after being waived in 1976 and brought back the following year. ... Greg Koch started 16 games in 1986 in his 10th year in the NFL before the Dolphins traded him to Minnesota after he played one game the following year. ... Oubre played the three strike-replacement games for the Dolphins in 1987 in his return to the NFL after starting 30 games from 1982-84. ... Andrew Greene played six games with one start as a rookie second-round pick in 1995, but he was waived the following summer after Jimmy Johnson took over as Dolphins head coach. ... Ndukwe played for four different teams in four NFL seasons and started a total of 18 games, 15 of them with the Dolphins in 2008.