Best players of each Miami Dolphins draft class

In 1978 the Dolphins made the choice to draft a quarterback in round 2 as they had no 1st round pick. Guy Benjamin. He played only two seasons and played in only seven games total starting none.

Third round pick Lyman Smith spent one season in the NFL but did not make the Dolphins roster. Miami found much more success later in round three when they drafted WR Jimmy Cefalo. Still a voice of the Dolphins, Cefalo played until 1984 and became a big target for Dan Marino.

Round four brought DB Gerald Small who played for six years with the Dolphins starting 76 of 88 games. A very solid mid-round addition.

Also in round four guard/tackle Eric Laakso spent his entire career in Miami until 1984.

Miami found late round gems in guard/center Mark Dennard and in round nine with TE Bruce Hardy. Dennard spent five seasons in Miami  while Hardy spent a whooping 12 seasons with the Dolphins. The only team he played for. Hardy scored 25 touchdowns in his career and caught 256 passes for over 2,400 yards. He started 95 of the 151 games he played in.

In round six Miami found their needed defensive end in Doug Betters. Betters’ stats suffer because the NFL didn’t count individual tackles or sacks but his career was impactful for the Dolphins and he came close to single handedly robbing Joe Theisemann and the Redskins of the Super Bowl in 1982.

Who was the best?

Doug Betters

Despte 14 seasons in the NFL it’s hard to argue against Betters whose name is on the teams Ring of Honor.