Top 10 Dolphins wide receivers

1 of 2

In my third installment of Dolphins greatest by position, we get to the wide receiver position. Miami has had many dynamic WRs in their franchise history.

The wide receiver position seems pretty straight forward to evaluate but ‘oh contraire’ my fellow readers. Let’s take two players for example: Duriel Harris and Howard Twilley.

Harris ranks 6th in franchise receiving yards but he would never be mentioned among the great WRs in Dolphins history. Meanwhile, Twilley is a famous figure in the Dolphins run in the 70’s but his stats show he put up very little production in those seasons; only once exceeding 500 yards receiving in any of his 11 seasons.

Therefore, to make the top 10, the player had to put up stats and make a meaningful contribution to the team’s success. Without further ado, here is the Dolphins Top 10 WRs.

10. Brandon Marshall

At first glance, Marshall’s stats don’t grant him a slot in the top 10. He is 23rd in receptions and 19th in receiving yards but is the franchise leader in receiving yards per game (74.3).

The reason Marshall’s numbers are misleading is because he only played two tumultuous season in Miami because of disagreements with coaches (over usage/catches) and he was still early in his treatment for his psychological issues.

If Miami had not dumped him so quickly, I believe that Marshall would currently be in the top five of this list.

9. Irving Fryar

Like Marshall, Fryar’s stats during his Dolphins tenure don’t appear to warrant this placing. 18th in receptions and 12th in yards but, like Marshall, he is 2nd in receiving yards per game (66.5) so he was productive during his short (3 yr) career in Miami.

8. Jarvis Landry

Landry is the 8th rated wide receiver in Dolphins history as of

Dec 24, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry (14) runs after a catch and breaks a tackle by Buffalo Bills nose tackle Marcell Dareus (99) during the second half at New Era Field. The Dolphins beat the Bills 34-31 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports /

today but, unless he leaves next year in free agency, he will be

flying up the list in the next few years.

“Juice” is the ‘heart and soul’ of the current Dolphins offense. While his 3,051 receiving yards ranks 16th all-time, Landry is already 8th in punt return yards and 13th in kickoff return yards.

The biggest ‘knock on Landry is his lack of outstanding touchdown numbers per season but some of that is scheme related.

7. Brian Hartline

While playing six years with the Dolphins, he has always been an underrated receiver in Dolphins history. Hartline ranks 7th in receiving yards but wasn’t really appreciated even when he was with the team.

Hartline turns upfield for a first down – Image by Brian Miller /

Much of that was due to a stark lack of team success but he was QB Ryan Tannehill’s “security blanket” during his his first two years in the league. Like Landry, a big sticking point that limited his notoriety was due to a lack of TD production.