The two-time Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins only have one player who played significant time with the team and made the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Despite the lone inclusion in Canton, the Dolphins have a long history with very impactful wideouts for the South Beach team.
Here are the five best receivers in Dolphins history.
5. Paul Warfield (1970-74)
Paul Warfield gets the first mention on the list. The only Hall of Famer entered here, Warfield was actually the first-ever former Dolphin to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983.
A first-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in the 1964 NFL Draft, Warfield spent the first five years of his celebrated playing career in Ohio. Warfield joined the Dolphins in 1970 under head coach Don Shula. From the start, the already star athlete Warfield became a stud for Miami, eventually leading the back-to-back champion Dolphins in receiving yards in the 1970's.
Warfield's numbers may not look as good as today's game, as his best season came in 1971 with just short of 1,000 receiving yards (along with leading the league in touchdown receptions), but he still stands as a giant of the game for the Dolphins' first 10 years of existence. After spending five years in Miami, earning a Pro Bowl selection each season and winning two titles, he's 12th in receiving yards in the franchise's history and fifth in touchdown receptions.
4. Chris Chambers (2001-07)
Next up is a more recent entry: Chris Chambers. A second-round selection out of Wisconsin in the 2001 NFL Draft, Chambers started his career with the Dolphins, coming out of the gate strong in his rookie season for Miami. In 2001, he posted 48 receptions for 883 yards, scoring seven touchdowns and leading the league in yards per receptions (18.4).
Chambers would later score double-digit touchdowns in two seasons with Miami along with becoming a one-time Pro Bowler in 2005. He was traded to the then-San Diego Chargers in Oct. 2007, later playing with the Kansas City Chiefs before calling it a career.
Chambers sits with the both the fourth-most receiving yards and touchdowns in Dolphins history.
3. Nat Moore (1974-86)
Going old school again, it's time to praise Dolphins lifer Nat Moore.
A third-round pick out of Florida by the Dolphins in the 1974 NFL Draft after winding down from their two consecutive Super Bowl wins, Moore never had the opportunity to win glory for Miami like some of his teammates had experienced. Nevertheless, he was a very important contributor for the Dolphins in his 13-year career, going to the postseason eight times.
Moore never put up crazy numbers, but he was a one-time Pro Bowl selection along with leading the league in touchdown receptions (12) once in 1977. He certainly put in a lot of work, stretching his career between the Dolphins' legendary and mainstay quarterbacks, Bob Griese and Dan Marino. Moore would reach two Super Bowl appearances in three years for Shula's Dolphins at the tail-end of the receiver's career, at that point breaking essentially every Miami receiving record (before they were later broken).
Moore is the Dolphins' third leader in receiving yards and caught the second-most touchdowns in franchise history.
2. Mark Duper (1982-92)
The final two wideouts on this list will always been linked together. The second-best receiver is Mark Duper, a three-time Pro Bowl selection and the franchise's leader in receiving yards with 8,869.
Duper was another Dolphins lifer who was selected by the team in the second round of the 1982 NFL Draft. The speedy “Super” Duper jumped onto the scene in his sophomore campaign, becoming a Pro Bowler at the age of 24 when he recorded 51 receptions for 1,003 yards, scoring 10 touchdowns as a target for Hall of Fame signal-caller Dan Marino's rookie season in 1983.
The next year, Duper amassed over 1,300 receiving yards on a single-season career-best 71 catches, scoring eight touchdowns. With four seasons with 1,000 or more receiving yards, Duper retired following the 1992 campaign with the most years in the history of the Dolphins and the second-most touchdowns—joining the next (and last) entry on this list in Miami's “Honor Roll” at the same time in Dec. 2003 (joining Warfield and Moore as the four honored receivers).
1. Mark Clayton (1983-92)
Lastly, Mark Clayton earns the Dolphins' best wideout award. Just off by a couple hundred yards for the franchise's record, held by Duper, Clayton possesses the most touchdown receptions in Miami's history, with 81.
Clayton was the 223rd overall pick by the Dolphins in the 1983 draft, pairing his professional career very closely with Duper and Marino for the underachieving AFC East squad over the years.
Like Duper, Clayton was a Pro Bowler at the age of 23 in his second season, leading the NFL in touchdown receptions (18) that year and tallying over 1,300 receiving yards in 1984.
Clayton was the most decorated receiver in Dolphins history, discounting the Hall of Famer Warfield. Clayton earned five Pro Bowl selections in his 11-year NFL career, spending 10 seasons with the Fins before ending his professional tenure with a single season in Green Bay. He twice led the league in receiving touchdowns and five times put up more than 1,000 yards in a season.
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