Who was the greatest late round Miami Dolphins draft pick?

The Miami Dolphins have had some great draft picks and many of them came late in the draft. Before the NFL cut the draft to seven rounds, the Dolphins found a lot of success with players drafted after round seven.

Earlier this week the Dolphins asked those of us who run websites who we though the best late rounde draft picks in franchise history were. Of course players like Mark Clayton immediately come to mind.

Clayton was taken in the 8th round, Jake Scott was a 7th round pick, and Jim “Crash” Jensen was taken in round 11. All of them are great players in Dolphins history and even a player like David Woodley could be considered given the fact he took the Dolphins to the Super Bowl.

It was hard to pass on any of them but to be honest, I didn’t want to go the regular road. To me Clayton, Scott, and Jensen are copouts. It is like asking who the best quarterback in Dolphins history is, the answer is simple. In this case, those guys are easily identifiable and I knew that my trusted friends of the other sites would make sure they were included in this list.

For me, I went with a player that most won’t remember and some have never heard of, wide-receiver Howard Twilley. I barely remember watching Twilley play but I remember collecting his football cards. I remember he wasn’t flashy but he was reliable and consistent.

Twilley was drafted in the 12th round of the 1966 draft making him one of the first Miami Dolphins players ever. He started his career in Miami when the Dolphins started in Miami and Twilley spent his entire 11 year NFL career with the Dolphins.

Twilley helped the Dolphins reach three consecutive Super Bowls and two Super Bowl wins including the 1972 perfect team. Twilley’s numbers were not earth shattering and he didn’t post a lot of touchdowns but he played well and was reliable and that showed through his 11 year career as he played alongside some of the best players in Dolphins history.