Five Miami Dolphins Hall of Famer candidates

Jason Taylor stretches prior to a game in Miami: Image by Brian Miller
Jason Taylor stretches prior to a game in Miami: Image by Brian Miller /
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This weekend Jason Taylor will be inducted into the Pro-Football Hall of Fame. He is the first Miami Dolphins player since Dan Marino.

After Saturday night concludes the Miami Dolphins will once again look at their current and former rosters and wonder who will be the next enshrined in the Hall of Fame. It’s not easy by any stretch. Miami has players dating all the way back to the 1970 Super Bowl years that deserve to be in the Hall of Fame but likely will never get in because of media bias.

Saturday night Taylor will watch the highlights of his career on a big screen. He will listen to former  head coach Jimmy Johnson talk about the skinny kid from Akron and then he will don the gold jacket and thank all of those people who helped him get there.

Taylor will join former Dolphin greats Larry Little, Bob Griese, Paul Warfield, Larry Csonka, Dwight Stephenson, Nick Buoniconti, Jim Langer, and of course Don Shula. It’s a great list to be associated with and that is exactly where Jason Taylor belongs. But who is next? Here are five players that could be or should be in line for Canton.

MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 21: Linebacker Zach Thomas #54 of the Miami Dolphins lines up against the New England Patriots at Dolphin Stadium on October 21, 2007 in Miami, Florida. The Pats won 49 – 28. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 21: Linebacker Zach Thomas #54 of the Miami Dolphins lines up against the New England Patriots at Dolphin Stadium on October 21, 2007 in Miami, Florida. The Pats won 49 – 28. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images) /

Zach Thomas

When it comes to tackles there are very few that were better than Zach Thomas. The smaller interior linebacker was explosive and equally impressive against the run and the pass. Thomas had great vision and could bring down the best backs from behind and disguise his blitzes to take out quarterbacks.

Like Taylor, Thomas was part of the Jimmy Johnson draft classes and he learned the NFL level quickly. He played smart football and left his heart and soul on the field. Thomas’ name has been on the finals list before but he has yet to get deep into the election process and it’s uncertain if his name will ever get the recognition it needs to get a vote into the Hall of Fame.