Number 57 and the Three Dolphins Who Wore It Best

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 57.

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

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

LB John Bramlett (1967-68), LB Mike Kolen (1970-77), LB Sean Clancy (1978), C Dwight Stephenson (1980-87), G Tom Thayer (1993), LB Dion Foxx (1994-95), LB O.J. Brigance (1997-99), LB Corey Moore (2001), LB Corey Jenkins (2003-04), LB Lester Towns (2005), LB Keith Adams (2006), G Andy Alleman (2008), LB Micah Johnson (2010), LB Josh Kaddu (2012-13), LB Jordan Tripp (2014), LB Damontre Moore (2015), LB Trevor Reilly (2016), LB Brennan Scarlett (2021)

The breakdown of 57 with the Dolphins

There is no debate for number 1 here. Dwight Stephenson not only is a Hall of Famer, he might be the best player (regardless of position) in franchise history. Yes, I said it. In any ranking, Dan Marino will come in at number 1 because of the position he played and because of his longevity, but perhaps no Dolphins player — maybe not even Marino — dominated his position the way Stephenson did. Though he pales in comparison with Stephenson, Mike Kolen was a very solid starter on the Dolphins' defenses of the 1970s after arriving in Miami as a 12th-round pick in 1970. O.J. Brigance also deserves mention as a very good special teams player from 1996-99, though he wore 58 in 1996 before switching to 57.

Worth noting

Bramlett started 22 games in two seasons with the Dolphins, but he'll always be remembered for being part of the 1969 trade that brought Nick Buoniconti to Miami. ... Thayer joined the Dolphins after starting 120 games for the Bears over the previous eight years (including starting for the 1985 Super Bowl champs), but he appeared in only three games with no starts for Miami. ... Tripp appeared in 13 games as a backup in 2014 and went on to play with four teams over the next three seasons. ... Moore's three games as a backup in 2015 was part of his journey of six teams in his final five NFL seasons. ... Reilly's two games with the Dolphins in 2016 was part of his four-year NFL career that featured stints with three teams — all in the AFC East.

The top three Dolphins players with number 57

1. C Dwight Stephenson

2. LB Mike Kolen

3. LB O.J. Brigance