Mark Duper showed up in Miami as a second-round pick out of Northwestern State in 1982, and almost nobody noticed at first. He played in only two games as a rookie and did not catch a single pass. Everything changed once Dan Marino took over at quarterback.

The production arrived in a hurry. In 1983, he went from zero catches the year before to 51 receptions for 1,003 yards and made the Pro Bowl. The next season, Marino’s MVP year, Duper put up 1,306 yards as the Dolphins reached the Super Bowl. He made the Pro Bowl again that year and once more in 1986, when he set a career high with 1,313 yards. He cracked 1,000 yards one more time in 1991, but the three Pro Bowls marked the peak of his career in Miami. Even in the years between those peaks, he remained a reliable deep option who could still stretch the field.

What made Duper effective in those years was his speed and the way he got downfield. At 5-foot-9, he was not the biggest receiver, but he created separation quickly and gave Marino a vertical threat opposite Mark Clayton. The two of them became the Marks Brothers, and together they turned Miami’s offense into one of the most explosive of the 1980s. Defenses had to account for both, and when the timing was right, Duper turned short throws into long gains. He was the kind of receiver who made a great quarterback look even more dangerous.

Duper stayed with the Dolphins through 1992, his final season in the league. He finished as the franchise’s all-time leader in receiving yards with 8,869.  He also threw for 59 touchdowns and later joined Clayton in the Dolphins Honor Roll.