Miami Dolphins Christian Wilkins will explode with new line help
By Brian Miller
In 2019, Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins had some good games, average games, and poor games. As a rookie, you would expect that.
Now we move on to 2020 where the Miami Dolphins need Christian Wilkins to become more than just a body on the front defensive line. They need a player who will take over the game and the additions this off-season should help that.
The pairing of Wilkins of Davon Godchaux tends to work out well enough but the Dolphins rotate their tackles and when Godchaux isn’t on the field, or Wilkins is off the field, the production isn’t what it needs to be. That should change in 2020.
The Dolphins have addressed their defensive front by addressing the defensive end position. Miami jettisoned dead weight at the position this off-season and while they didn’t add players from the market to line up next to Wilkins and Godchaux, they added rookie Raekwon Davis who could have an immediate impact on the defensive line but they also rebuilt the defensive end position and this is where the Dolphins should get better as a defensive front.
When we think of defensive tackles we tend to think of run-stopping bodies who should be able to get up the field and help collapse the pocket. We also tend to forget that the play of the defensive ends is important to the success of the interior. Last year, the Dolphins lacked quality defensive ends on both sides.
This off-season the Dolphins made Shaq Lawson a priority, the added Emmanuel Ogbah, and in the draft, they selected two potential steals in Curtis Weaver and Jason Strowbridge. If the shuffle works, Wilkins and Godchaux are going to find it much easier to do their jobs.
The interior should get stronger with better play from the interior linebackers as well. We saw some of that late last season as the linebackers began to play better.
Overall, 2020 should see a marked improvement on the success of the Dolphins front defensive line, not because of DT additions but because the Dolphins added to their supporting cast.