Number 37 and the Three Miami Dolphins Who Wore It Best
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 37.
The top players at each number so far have been DE Jason Taylor at 99, DT Jared Odrick at 98, DE Phillip Merling at 97, DT Paul Soliai at 96, DT Tim Bowens at 95, DT Randy Starks at 94, DE Trace Armstrong at 93, LS John Denney at 92, DE Cameron Wake at 91, DE/OLB Marco Coleman at 90, WR Nat Moore at 89, TE Keith Jackson at 88, TE Andre Tillman at 87, WR Oronde Gadsden at 86, LB Nick Buoniconti at 85, DE Bill Stanfill at 84, WR Mark Clayton at 83, WR Brian Hartline at 82, WR O.J. McDuffie at 81, WR Irving Fryar at 80, T Jon Giesler at 79, T Richmond Webb at 78, LB A.J. Duhe at 77, T Branden Albert at 76, DT Manny Fernandez at 75, T Mark Dennis at 74, NT Bob Baumhower at 73, T Terron Armstead at 72, T Todd Wade at 71, DE Kendall Langford at 70, G Keith Sims at 69, G Robert Hunt at 68, G Bob Kuechenberg at 67, G Larry Little at 66, OL Jeff Dellenbach at 65, G Ed Newman at 64, G Mark Dixon at 63, C Jim Langer at 62, C Tim Ruddy at 61, G Bert Weidner at 60, LB Doug Swift at 59, LB Kim Bokamper at 58, C Dwight Stephenson at 57, LB John Offerdahl at 56, LB Earnest Rhone at 55, LB Zach Thomas at 54, LB Bob Matheson at 53, LB Channing Crowder at 52, LB Bryan Cox at 51, LB Larry Gordon at 50, CB William Judson at 49, CB Gerald Small at 48, S Glenn Blackwood at 47, S Don Bessilieu at 46, CB Curtis Johnson at 45, CB Paul Lankford at 44, LB Andrew Van Ginkel at 43, WR Paul Warfield at 42, FB. Keith Byars at 41, S Dick Anderson at 40, FB Larry Csonka at 39, and CB Calvin Jackson at 38.
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.
S Mike Kozlowski (1979), RB Andra Franklin (1981-84), CB J.B. Brown (1989-96), Zebbie Lethridge (2001), S Yeremiah Bell (2004-11), S Kelsie McCray (2013), D.J. Campbell (2013), CB Sammy Seamster (2014), S A.J. Hendy (2016), RB Myles Gaskin (2019-22), RB Darrynton Evans
The Dolphins haven’t had that many players wear 37, but three of them clearly stand out above the rest and a case could be made for each of those three as the best to wear that number. Andra Franklin was a very productive running back for the Dolphins after arriving as a second-round pick in 1981, though his career was cut short by an injury. He rushed for between 701 and 746 yards in his first three NFL seasons, though it’s important to note that his 701 yards in 1982 came in only nine games because of the strike-shortened season. That pace equals to 1,246 season over 16 games. Franklin also consistenty found the end zone, with seven, seven, and eight rushing touchdowns his first three season. Franklin started the first two games in 1984, but was injured and never played again in the NFL. J.B. Brown was a 12th-round pick in 1989 who became a starter in his second season and stayed in the starting lineup for six seasons. While he didn’t get enough credit, he formed a solid cornerback tandem with Troy Vincent from 1992-95. Brown had four picks in 1992 and five more in 1993. He started one game in 1996 in his final season with Miami before closing out his NFL career with four seasons split between the Steelers, Cardinals and Lions. Safety Yeremiah Bell arrived in Miami as a sixth-round pick out of Eastern Kentucky and wound up starting 75 games for the Dolphins, including all but one game his final four seasons with the team. He had at least 100 tackles in each of those seasons and made the Pro Bowl in 2009 when he had 114 tackles and three interceptions. Gaskin did a good job in his first two seasons after arriving as a seventh-round pick in 2019 before his role faded.
1. CB J.B. Brown
2. S Yeremiah Bell
3. RB Andra Franklin
No Dolphins player would be considered among the top 20 to wear that number around the NFL through the years.
