94 days left until Miami Dolphins football, time for some Randy Starks love
By Nick Belotto
The number 94 on our countdown features a ton of players who only played one season for the Miami Dolphins. Names like Lawrence Timmons, Keith Traylor, Robert Quinn, and Mario Williams don’t really get Dolphins fans excited. None of the above players did anything that is worthy of consideration here and most Miami fans forgot they played down here (I, myself totally forgot about Timmons!).
That leaves us with two options, one current and one historic.
The current option is Christian Wilkins who has gotten better every single season since he was drafted out of Clemson in 2019. He has always been a high motor guy and has improved every single facet of his game (including touchdown scoring and blocking) over his short career. The sky is the limit for Wilkins going into the season and the hope is that he will continue to blossom into a top defensive lineman in the league.
Yet, because Wilkins is still somewhat new to the game, the honor for “Number 94 Day” goes instead to Randy Starks.
Starks started his career in Tennessee but came to the Dolphins after four average seasons for the Titans. His career definitely picked up in Miami.
Starks played for the Dolphins from 2008 through 2014 and put together a great stat line of 30.5 sacks, 4 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, and 4 fumble recoveries. He also had 16 passes defended during his time in Miami, which is an impressive stat for a defensive lineman and his play earned him two trips to the Pro Bowl, one in 2010 and one in 2012 (stats courtesy of profootballreference.com).
Starks was a player that really performed for the Miami defense. His time in Miami coincided with a lot of turnover at the head coaching and quarterback position, so a lot of his time was wasted. He still, however, was one of Miami’s top players on the roster and was a complete contributor along the defensive line.
Even though his career fizzled out after he left Miami for the Cleveland Browns, his time in South Florida should still be held in high regard. Wilkins might overtake him in the future, but for right now, this spot securely belongs to Starks.