With the ninth overall pick in the 1990 Draft, the Miami Dolphins took the hulking Richmond Webb from Texas A&M for one clear reason: to keep Dan Marino upright on the left side. The former Aggie did exactly that.

Webb started in Week 1 as a rookie and never really stopped. He became the first Dolphin to reach the Pro Bowl in each of his first seven seasons, from 1990 through 1996. During those years, he was a two-time first-team All-Pro (1992, 1994) and a two-time second-team All-Pro (1993, 1995). At 6-foot-6 and well over 300 pounds, he gave Marino a consistent wall on the blind side while the offense kept throwing. He was later named to the 1990s All-Decade Team.

What made the early years stand out was how quickly he settled into the job. As a rookie, he started every game and helped the Dolphins allow only 16 sacks, the fewest in the league. Marino had the kind of protection that let him stay in the pocket and work through his progressions instead of constantly sliding or dumping the ball early. Webb wasn’t flashy, but he was reliable in pass protection and sturdy enough in the run game that teams couldn’t simply ignore the left side and overload the other edge. Year after year, the line stayed functional even as the supporting cast around him shifted.

He also showed the kind of durability left tackles are supposed to provide and rarely do for that long. Webb started 163 of the 164 games he played in Miami and put together a franchise-record streak of 118 consecutive starts. The Dolphins made the playoffs in eight of his eleven seasons with the team, and through most of that stretch the sack numbers stayed manageable even though Marino was still dropping back as often as anyone in the league. When the knees and the miles finally caught up, the production dipped, but the first seven years had already established him as the most consistent left tackle the franchise had ever had.

After eleven seasons in Miami, Webb signed with the Cincinnati Bengals and played two more years there before injuries slowed him. He signed a one-day contract with the Dolphins in 2005 so he could retire as a member of the team that drafted him. The Dolphins added him to their Honor Roll in 2006.