Miami Dolphins might miss Christian Wilkins more than Van Noy Sunday
By Brian Miller
Miami Dolphins might miss Christian Wilkins more than Kyle Van Noy on Sunday.
On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins will host the L.A. Chargers and they will likely be missing Christian Wilkins and Kyle Van Noy.
Both Kyle Van Noy and Christian Wilkins have been place on the COVID-19 IR list as of yesterday and now both are in a position to miss this Sunday’s game at Hard Rock Stadium and that is not a good thing.
Losing one is bad enough but losing both would be very hard on a Dolphins defense that is climbing the NFL defensive ranks. Of the two however, Miami probably needs Wilkins a little bit more.
Wilkins has emerged as the heart of the Dolphins defense. He may not stand out as a leader but there is no question he is the team’s cheerleading voice and never ending energy. His fire for the game is incredible and he runs to the endzone after ever touchdown to celebrate with the offense. Or the defense as it has been the last two weeks.
Wilkins is playing well and he is establishing himself as a big part of Miami’s front line. Losing him this week, against a team that can run the ball, will not be good considering Miami’s weakness on defense is, run defense.
The Miami Dolphins defense will take a hit of both Van Noy and Wilkins can’t play.
Van Noy is a player you want on the field every play and he is a leader on the defense without question. His ability to cover, mask his blitz, set the edge and make tackles is important but Van Noy’s job can be substituted with a back-up because Miami has depth at linebacker. They don’t have that same depth along the defensive line.
Miami is already down Davon Godchaux who is on IR and without Wilkins, Miami would have only Zach Sieler and rookie Raekwon Davis up front and healthy. It is likely that Miami elevates undrafted rookie Benito Jones to the active roster if Wilkins isn’t cleared by Sunday.
For now, it’s a wait and see situation. The game is still two days away and both players will need to have two negative tests to be cleared. For now, we have to assume that both will not play to be on the safe side but at the same time, remain optimistic.