Top 25 Dolphins Since 2000: Players 25–21

We kick off the list with a mix of retired players, an active player now on a different team, and a current Dolphin seeking a contract extension. Stay tuned for the rest of the countdown, and don’t forget to check out the Honorable Mentions to see which players just missed the cut.

• #25 Ronnie Brown

It’s hard to be a top-25 player for a franchise this millennium while also being a disappointing draft pick for that very same team, but that’s the spot where Ronnie Brown finds himself. Brown was selected #2 overall in the 2005 NFL Draft over a guy like Aaron Rodgers, who Miami did consider taking at the time. Brown was the replacement to Ricky Williams, who had retired the previous offseason. While Williams did return in 2005, Brown emerged as the team’s lead back in 2006 after another suspension for Ricky Williams. The former Auburn standout had success as Miami’s lead back, and in 2007, he seemed poised for a breakout campaign as he was on pace for nearly 1,400 yards on five yards per attempt, despite being on the NFL’s worst team.

Unfortunately, a knee injury knocked him out for the rest of the year and took a toll on his overall athleticism. Brown would return the following season and earn Pro Bowl honors as he & Williams formed a dangerous tandem that would take the league by storm with the Wildcat, helping them win the division. Overall, it was an up-and-down career for Brown, but he did end up third on the team’s all-time rushing leaders. Could Brown have ended up higher on the list had it not been for his knee injury in 2007? I believe so.

• #24 Christian Wilkins.

The first active player to find himself on the list is someone who no longer plays for the team. A first-round pick in 2019, Wilkins became the first major piece in a rebuilding roster. Despite entering the NFL as a somewhat older rookie, Wilkins took his time before cementing himself among the premier defensive linemen in the NFL.

By 2021, he had arrived as he started all 17 games and broke the single-season tackle record by a defensive lineman. In 2022, he would then break his own record and have his finest season as a Dolphin as he finished with sixteen tackles for loss and became one of the bigger Pro Bowl snubs in Dolphins history. He would then post another strong season in 2023, recording a career of nine sacks. Unfortunately, he played himself out of the Dolphins price range and ended up signing with the Raiders on a four-year deal with $84 million guaranteed. 

• #23 Zach Sieler

Wilkins’ former partner in crime ends up one spot ahead of him, even if he may not be the better player. However, Sieler did end up staying in Miami after signing a three-year extension in 2023. The Dolphins’ interior lineman is widely known to Miami fans as their most underrated player entering each season, despite the fact that he’s now registered back-to-back double-digit sack seasons. Sieler was claimed by Miami off waivers in 2019 as they were seemingly turning over every rock to see if they could find something worth having; with Sieler, they struck gold. Since 2020, he’s started 64 games and played in 82. Despite not being a stereotypical pass-rusher, as he primarily plays inside, he’s now up to ninth on the Dolphins’ all-time sack leaders.  Currently, Sieler finds himself hoping for an extension by the Dolphins, who, in return, could see him becoming a top-five player in franchise sack production.