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 66.
The top players at each number so far have been Jason Taylor at 99, Jared Odrick at 98, Phillip Merling at 97, Paul Soliai at 96, Tim Bowens at 95, Randy Starks at 94, Trace Armstrong at 93, John Denney at 92, Cameron Wake at 91, Marco Coleman at 90, Nat Moore at 89, Keith Jackson at 88, Andre Tillman at 87, Oronde Gadsden at 86, Nick Buoniconti at 85, Bill Stanfill at 84, Mark Clayton at 83, Brian Hartline at 82, O.J. McDuffie at 81, Irving Fryar at 80, Jon Giesler at 79, Richmond Webb at 78, A.J. Duhe at 77, Branden Albert at 76, Manny Fernandez at 75, Mark Dennis at 74, Bob Baumhower at 73, Terron Armstead at 72, Todd Wade at 71, Kendall Langford at 70, Keith Sims at 69, Robert Hunt at 68, and Bob Kuechenberg at 67.
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.
G Larry Little (1969-80), G Larry Lee (1985-86), G-T Jim Gilmore (1987), T Everett McIver (1996-97), T Kevin Gogan (1999), G Heath Irwin (2000-01), G Jamie Nails (2002-03), G Rex Hadnot (2004-07), G Donald Thomas (2008-09), G David Arkin (2013), G Shelley Smith (2014), G Jacques McClendon (2015), C Travis Swanson (2018), G Solomon Kindley (2020-21), OL Lester Cotton (2022-23)
It’s back-to-back no-brainers for the top spot because Larry Little is just as big a slam dunk at 66 as Bob Kuechenberg was at 67. Little, who arrived in perhaps the greatest trade in Dolphins history, was a two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl selection in the 1970s and he was rewarded for his brilliant career with a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As for the rest of the 66’s, not much really stands out. Everett McIver started 10 games over two seasons after being claimed off waivers from the Jets. Jamie Nails started two seasons for the Dolphins and his play in 2002, when he helped Ricky Williams lead the NFL with a team-record 1,853 rushing yards, was Pro Bowl caliber. Rex Hadnot started 55 games in his four seasons in Miami, splitting time at right guard and center. Solomon Kindley started 13 games as a rookie in 2020, but he got little playing time in his second season and then was gone. Donald Thomas became an opening-day starter as a rookie sixth-round pick in 2008, but he sustained a season-ending foot injury in the opener and never was able to live up to that promise, even though he did start 12 games in 2009.
1. G Larry Little
2. C-G Rex Hadnot
3. G Jamie Nails
Little is one of six Hall of Famers who mostly wore 66 in the NFL, along with Alan Faneca, Gene Hickerson, Ray Nitschke, Billy Shaw and Clyde Turner, and maybe an argument can be made for Faneca getting the top spot because he started 50 more games than Little or maybe Nitschke for his role in the Green Bay dynasty of the 1960s. But Little also deserves recognition as probably the greatest pulling guard in NFL history and for his role for the running game that propelled the Dolphins to three consecutive Super Bowl appearances in the 1970s. So Little, from this end, either gets the No. 1 or No. 2 spot.
