Miami Dolphins All-Time Top 100 Players: 87. Irving Fryar

by Kevin Kraczkowski on Feb 19, 2012 8:00 AM EST in Miami Dolphins Historical Perspective

Irving Fryar, born in Mount Holly, New Jersey, played his college ball for the Cornhuskers of Nebraska. He was selected as a consensus All-American in 1983, and was selected with the first pick of the 1984 draft by the New England Patriots.

As a rookie, Fryar only caught 11 passes, but with his 4.23 40-yard speed, the Patriots found a way to get the ball in his hands. He specialized as a punt return man, taking back 36 punts for 347 yards. His 9.6 yard average return was good for seventh best in the NFL.

1985 would see Fryar blossom into his role, making his first Pro Bowl by returning 37 punts for 520 yards and two touchdowns, leading the NFL with 14.1 yards per return. He also caught 39 passes for 670 yards and six touchdowns.

In total, Fryar played in 129 games over nine seasons with the Patriots, catching 363 passes for 5,726 yards and 38 touchdowns. If the Patriots blog makes a list like this one, Fryar would figure in at number 60. He returned a total of 206 punts for 2,055 yards.

Fryar would join the Dolphins in 1993 for a pair of draft choices. He agreed to a three year, $4.2 million contract. Fryar was worth the money, in 1993 he made his first Pro Bowl in eight seasons, catching 64 passes for a team leading 1,010 yards and five touchdowns.

In 1994, Fryar continued to be Dan Marino's target of choice, catching 73 passes for 1,270 yards and seven touchdowns, to that time all career highs. He was selected to his second consecutive Pro Bowl following the season.

1995 would see Fryar's numbers tail off, with his 62 receptions, his 910 passing yards and his eight touchdowns still leading or tied for the Dolphin's lead. He would fail to make the Pro Bowl that season. For the Dolphins, Fryar caught a total of 199 balls for 3,190 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Fryar joined the Philadelphia Eagles starting in 1996, garnering two more Pro Bowl selections over his three seasons there. He played for the Washington Redskins for two seasons to close out his career, retiring after the 2000 season.

In his 17 NFL seasons, Fryar totalled 851 catches for 12,785 yards and 84 touchdowns. He had caught at least one touchdown pass throw by 19 different quarterbacks, an NFL record.

He is currently a pastor at the New Jerusalem House of God in Mount Holly, New Jersey.

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Comments

Too bad you made no mention of

his early troubles and how he turned his life around!

"Theyas no fawking qwatahback!"-Anonymous Patriots fan at seeing the Wildcat formation for the first time.

Follow @Texascowpunk

by texascowpunk on Feb 19, 2012 9:07 AM EST via Android app reply actions

Yeah, I thought about it...

I guess this time I was just a little lazy.

Do what you feel and say what you mean, because in the end, those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter - Dr. Seuss
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by Kevin Kraczkowski on Feb 19, 2012 1:54 PM EST up reply actions

But it's a huge part of his story as a

player since it coincided with his improvement as a player.

"Theyas no fawking qwatahback!"-Anonymous Patriots fan at seeing the Wildcat formation for the first time.

Follow @Texascowpunk

by texascowpunk on Feb 19, 2012 2:06 PM EST via Android app up reply actions

The 4th down TD reception in Marino's comeback game

"The first thing I do when I get out of bed and feel the jolt in my knees is think of Roy Winston. On the second step, my calcified Adam's apple starts bobbing, and I think of Carl Eller. A few more steps in the dark and it's Willie Lanier. By the time I get to the bathroom, I'm flashing back to Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke. And when the light finally comes on, I just hope that somewhere in the darkness they're thinking of me, too" - Larry Csonka.
He played before my time but one of the toughest SOBs to ever play!

by Strange on Feb 19, 2012 11:03 AM EST via mobile reply actions

Hated Fryar so much with the Pats, I couldn't love him wholeheartedly when he became

a dolphin. Funny how I still feel that way becuz he and Marino connected on some nice plays, but their success never came close to the Marks brothers.

Get the best man to clear every hurdle that stand in the Dolphins way, go RG3.
RG3, the new Transformer of the future.

by fin4three5yrs on Feb 19, 2012 6:31 PM EST reply actions

Too many young fans don't know about Paul Warfield

greatest receiver to ever wear the Dolphins uniform - just because the ball wasn’t thrown often back then doesn’t mean he wasn’t great. Put him in today’s game and his numbers would be lights out.

Official member of "The Luck Fleet"
Nobody hurt a tackler like Zonk did.

by rintintinsoldier on Feb 20, 2012 7:32 AM EST reply actions