Miami Dolphins at 50: Top 10 LBs

Mandatory Credit: MiamiDolphins.com

No. 3 – John Offerdahl

If you’re young enough (or old enough now) to have played Tecmo Super Bowl on the NES, this is the guy you selected when on stuck on defense because he could do everything.

In real life, the same was the truth for John Offerdahl. The 52nd overall pick in the 1986 NFL Draft played every single linebacking position for Miami during his eight year career.

In his first five seasons (1986-1990) as a pro, Offerdahl was named to the Pro Bowl. He was given First Team All-Pro honors in 1990, his only selection during his career.

His 1990 season was quite possibly the best of his career. He put together his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl appearance thanks to a 120-tackle campaign coupled with one interception and a sack. The Dolphins went 12-4 that season and advanced to the AFC Divisional round only to lose 44-34 to the Buffalo Bills.

Offerdahl had trouble staying in the line-up for Miami only starting more than 10 games three times in his eight-year career, but he did start 86 of his 89 appearances as a Dolphin.

Despite being in and out of the line-up, Offerdahl recorded over 500 tackles with 9.5 sacks. Offerdahl’s time in Miami lacked many playoff appearances, but he helped to get the team back to the postseason leading up to the early 90’s resurgence of the Dolphins.