Top 50 Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins entered the world of Pro Football in 1966 when they joined the AFL. Once the leagues merged, the Dolphins emerged as one of the first elite powers of the conference in the early 70s, something that seemed incomprehensible based on their early struggles.
The Dolphins went to Super Bowl VI, losing to Dallas, but they would then put forth an undefeated season in 1972 and would win Super Bowl VII, which to date is the only time a team has gone an entire year without a loss. The Dolphins repeated as Super Bowl Champions the following year.
That was the last Super Bowl win for the Dolphins, but they did appear in the big game twice in the 1980s.
This list is up to the end of the 2024 season.
Note: Football lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and post-season accolades.
Ed Newman had every reason to be happy when the Super Bowl VII champions drafted him in the sixth round out of Duke in 1973. He did not play much as a rookie, but he was on the roster when the Dolphins won Super Bowl VIII the next season. For the next few years, he stayed mostly on special teams…
It is easy to think of Nat Moore as just a compiler, but he compiled a lot! Born in Florida, he played at the University of Florida after a stop at Tennessee-Martin, then spent his entire 13-year career with the Miami Dolphins. The team drafted him in the third round in 1974, and he stayed through 1986, which meant Florida…
John Offerdahl turned heads at Western Michigan by racking up tackles and earning MAC Defensive Player of the Year in 1985. A strong Senior Bowl performance helped push him up the board, and the Dolphins grabbed him in the second round of the 1986 draft. Miami was the only team he ever played for, and he made it clear right…
Nick Buoniconti arrived in Miami after a spectacular seven-year run with the Boston Patriots, where he had already earned four first-team All-Pro selections. The Patriots traded him after the 1968 season, and the Dolphins were quietly assembling a young defensive core. Buoniconti gave that group a veteran presence and a voice in the middle of the field, even if he…
Jim Kiick may not have been a Hall of Famer like his fellow back and teammate Larry Csonka, but he brought an excellent skill set to the Miami Dolphins after arriving as a fifth-rounder from Wyoming in 1968. The two had already crossed paths at a college all-star game, where they spent more time partying than practicing, and the chemistry…
Keith Sims played the first eight of his eleven NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins after the team took him in the second round out of Iowa State in 1990. He stepped in at left guard and started most of his games from the start, forming a reliable tandem with tackle Richmond Webb on the left side of the line.…
Garo Yepremian showed up in the NFL the hard way. Born in Cyprus, he had a soccer scholarship lined up at Indiana until the school found out he had already played semi-pro in England and yanked it. Instead of heading home, he decided to try kicking American football, a sport he had never played. His brother helped set up a…
Xavien Howard came to Miami as a second-round pick out of Baylor in 2016. Knee trouble limited him to seven games as a rookie, but once he got healthy the next couple of years, he started looking like the corner the Dolphins thought they were getting. He became a full-time starter in 2017 and showed the length and ball skills…
The Miami Dolphins were already loaded at the back position with Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick, but they had another considerable weapon in Eugene “Mercury” Morris. The product of West Texas State was used mostly as a returner early on, and as a rookie in 1969 he led the league in kick return yards (1,136) and total return yards (1,308).…
Doug Betters took a long road to Miami. He started at Montana, earned All-Big Sky honors as a defensive lineman, then transferred to Nevada for his senior year, where he led the team with 10 sacks and earned Division II All-America recognition. The Dolphins took him in the sixth round of the 1978 draft, and he spent the next decade…
Patrick Surtain arrived in Miami as a second-round pick out of Southern Miss in 1998 and spent most of his first two seasons coming off the bench. By 2000, he had locked down the starting left cornerback job opposite Sam Madison, and the Dolphins’ secondary became one of the league’s more physical units. Surtain specialized in press coverage, jamming receivers…
Jake Long arrived in Miami as the first overall pick in the 2008 draft out of Michigan, and he stepped straight into the starting left tackle job. He started all 16 games as a rookie and made the Pro Bowl, helping the Dolphins win the AFC East after a 1-15 season the year before. Long was a classic power tackle…
Bryan Cox arrived in Miami as a fifth-round pick out of Western Illinois in 1991 and started right away as a rookie. He played in 13 games that year and recorded 61 tackles and two sacks while the Dolphins finished 8-8. The following season he took a major step forward. In 1992, he posted 14 sacks, 127 combined tackles, and…
Norm Evans arrived in Miami after one season with the Houston Oilers when the expansion Dolphins selected him in the 1966 AFL Expansion Draft. He stepped into the starting right tackle job immediately and held it for the next decade. Evans started 135 of his 138 games and became one of the most durable pieces on the offensive line. He…
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Vern Den Herder showed up in Miami as a ninth-round pick out of Central College in Iowa in 1971 and never left. He spent his whole career with the Dolphins, starting as a backup before locking down the left defensive end spot in 1972 and holding it for the next ten years. He started 144 of his 166 games with…
Ricky Williams arrived in Miami via trade before the 2002 season after three productive but uneven years with the New Orleans Saints. The Saints had mortgaged their entire 1999 draft (and more) to select the Heisman Trophy winner fifth overall; when results and off-field issues didn’t match the price, both sides benefited from a change. Miami sent a 2002 first-round…
Tim Bowens joined the Dolphins as the 20th overall pick in 1994, a big, raw defensive tackle out of Ole Miss. Questions lingered about his college tape and conditioning, but he settled in quickly. He started almost immediately, helped the defense control the run, and earned AP Defensive Rookie of the Year honors as Miami won the AFC East. He…
A national champion at Alabama in 1978, Tony Nathan joined the Dolphins the following spring as a third-round pick. Miami saw a versatile back who could contribute in multiple ways, and he began his career primarily as a kick and punt returner. As a rookie, he earned first-team All-Pro honors on special teams, establishing himself as one of the league’s…
Tim Ruddy joined the Dolphins as a second-round pick in 1994, a Notre Dame center who was a second-team All-American as a senior. He spent his rookie season as a backup, appearing in all 16 games but not starting any, before taking over the job full-time as a sophomore. From 1995 onward, he started at center, handling the first snap…
