Number 84 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

Three major contributors at three different positions highlight this number

Chris Chambers (84) carries the ball against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium in a 2006 game. / USA TODAY Sports

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 84.

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, Tim Bowens at 95, Randy Starks at 94,  Trace Armstrong at 93, John Denney at 92, Cameron Wake at 91, Marco Coleman at 90,  Nat Moore at 89, Keith Jackson at 88, Andre Tillman at 87, Oronde Gadsden at 86, and Nick Buoniconti at 85.

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

DE Earl Faison (1966), DL Ray Jacobs (1967-68), DE Bill Stanfill (1969-76), TE Bruce Hardy (1978-89), TE Willie Smith (1987), TE Greg Baty (1990-94), WR Gary Clark (1995), TE Troy Drayton (1996-99), TE Brett Carolan (1996), WR Leslie Shepherd (2000), WR Chris Chambers (2001-07), WR Patrick Turner (2009), TE Michael Egnew (2012-13), TE Jordan Cameron (2015-16), WR Isaiah Ford (2018-20), TE Hunter Long (2021-22)

The breakdown of 84 with the Dolphins

This is an interesting number because it featured productive players at three different positions. Defensive end Bill Stanfill became one of the best pass rushers in Dolphins history after being a first-round pick in 1969 and he shared the all-time team sack record (unofficially) until Jason Taylor came along and broke it. Tight end Bruce Hardy, who made the cover of Sports Illustrated as a high school athlete in Arizona, started 95 games during his 12-year NFL career, all of it with the Dolphins. Then there's wide receiver Chris Chambers, who was a second-round pick in 2001, became a starter during his rookie season and was named team MVP in 2005 when had 1,118 receiving yards, including 238 during a December game against the Buffalo Bills. Tight end Troy Drayton started 53 games and caught 127 passes for the Dolphins after coming over in a 1996 trade for disappointing 1995 first-round pick Billy Milner. Patrick Turner was a disappointing third-round pick in 2009 who played only two games as a rookie before being waived before his second season.

The top three Dolphins players with number 84

1. DE Bill Stanfill

2. WR Chris Chambers

3. TE Bruce Hardy

Dolphins 84's among the NFL's all-time best

There are three Hall of Famers who wore predominantly 84 during their NFL career, and they are Randy Moss, Andy Robustelli and Shannon Sharpe. Stanfill had three dominant seasons for the Dolphins, but lack of longevity would keep from being a clear-cut top 10 player at the jersey number.