Preston Williams — Steve Mitchell-USA Today Sports

Number 82 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

We're now 82 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:
Jun 18, 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 82.

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

TE-K Doug Moreau (1966-69), WR Otto Stowe (1971-72), WR Bo Rather (1973), WR Melvin Baker (1974), WR Cotton Speyrer (1975), WR Morris Owens (1975-76), Ike Hill (1976), WR Duriel Harris (1977-85), WR Fernanza Burgess (1984), WR James Pruitt (1986-88), Todd Felman (1987), WR Andre Brown (1989-90), WR Scott Miller (1991-92), WR Mark Ingram (1993-94), TE Frank Wainright (1995-98), WR Larry Shannon (1999), WR Roell Preston (1999), WR Kevin McKenzie (1999), TE Jed Weaver (2000-02), WR Kendall Newson (2003), WR Bryan Gilmore (2006-08), WR Brian Hartline (2009-14), TE Cethan Carter (2021)

The breakdown of 82 with the Dolphins

As we move to number 82 in the jersey countdown, it's interesting to note that no player had worn the number since 2014 before Cethan Carter got it in 2021. Coincidentally, the player who probably was the most productive wearing 82 was the last person to wear it before Carter: Brian Hartline. A fourth-round pick in the 2009 NFL draft, Hartline was a five-year starter for the Dolphins who had 1,000-yard seasons in 2012 and 2013. Second place probably would have to go to Duriel Harris, who wore 26 as a rookie third-round pick in 1976 before switching to 82. Harris started 61 games in nine seasons with the Dolphins and led the team in receiving in 1981 when he had 53 catches for 911 yards. Beyond those two, there's nobody who clearly stands out, though Mark Ingram deserves mention for two solid seasons and his memorable four-touchdown game against the New York Jets, including being on the receiving end of the "fake spike" in 1994. Doug Moreau started 28 games at tight end for the Dolphins and have 34 catches in 1967. He was 1-for-3 on field goal attempts in 1968.

Worth noting

Morris Owens didn't catch a pass in his one-plus season with the Dolphins, but went on to start 47 games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and catch 116 passes. ... James Pruitt wore 82 in his first of two stints with the Dolphins before switching to 87 and 81 after he returned to the team. ... Three different players wore 82 during the 1999 season, starting with 1998 third-round pick Larry Shannon, a wide receiver out of East Carolina who had missed his entire rookie season with a back injury after Jimmy Johnson favorably compared him to Randy Moss. .... Tight end Jed Weaver caught only 34 passes in his three seasons with the Dolphins, but he should be remembered for catching the game-tying touchdown pass in the overtime playoff victory against the Colts in 2000. ... Preston Williams wore 82 in training camp as a rookie in 2019 before switching to 18 before the start of the regular season.