The NFL free agency market added a huge name as the Miami Dolphins made news by not placing the franchise tag on Christian Wilkins, making him available to speak with other teams and could end his stint with the team that drafted him. There is no doubt that other teams would be foaming at the mouth to bolster their defensive line with Wilkins as Dianna Russini of The Athletic was on “The Athletic Football Show” to talk about his interest.
“Christian Wilkins, that was a name I was hearing in Indy, there are a lot of teams who are interested in his services and what he’s able to do,” Russini said. “So there was a thought out there that there’s no way the Dolphins were going to tag him, and that he’s still fairly young. The price tag is going to be the issue for a lot of teams, he’s going to get a lot of money because of his ability. He's still a really good player and almost certain Miami would have love to keep him.”
Wilkins has been one of, if not the central piece of the foundation for the Dolphins defense since he was drafted with the 13th overall pick in 2019. Last season, he recorded a career-high nine sacks to go along with 65 total tackles and is an ultimate run-stopper which was a plus for Miami's defense.
Maybe Wilkins goes back to the Dolphins?
However, is there a chance he goes back to the Dolphins? If you ask high-end sports agent Drew Rosenhaus, he believes that Miami will be “really aggressive to bring him back” according to David Furones of The Sun Sentinel. It is important to know that while he represents other players on the team, he is not Wilkins' agent.
“I think he’s going to be one of the most sought-after free agents in the entire market,” Rosenhaus said. He’ll most certainly sign for more than what the franchise tag number is for defensive tackles, which is $22 million.”
“It’s a hot market, and he’s one of the best overall players in free agency. I’m quite certain, even though the Dolphins didn’t franchise him, that they’ll be really aggressive to bring him back,” Rosenhaus continued. “I’m sure they’ll be very competitive with the other teams. I wouldn’t count the Dolphins out, but certainly, now they’ve got a ton of competition as compared to the franchise tag.”
Wilkins a top three free agent per ESPN
The Dolphins have already made a ton of changes on the defensive side of the ball where it all started when coordinator Vic Fangio and the team mutually agreed to part ways, leaving for Baltimore Ravens assistant head coach Anthony Weaver to take the job. Other key players on the unit will also not return like cornerback Xavien Howard and linebacker Jerome Baker, former mainstays on the defense.
ESPN released a rankings list of the top 100 players available in free agency no matter the position. Wilkins was ranked No. 3 behind defensive tackle Chris Jones and quarterback Kirk Cousins per Matt Bowen at ESPN where he talked about the “position versatility” to help a numerous amount of NFL teams.
“Wilkins has the position versatility to produce in multiple NFL fronts; he can align as a 3-technique, play nose tackle or even slide to the edge,” Bowen wrote. “He's an explosive mover off the ball with the lateral juice to impact both the run and pass defense. Wilkins recorded 9 sacks, 35 pressures and 63 tackles last season.”
There is no doubt that whoever ends up with Wilkins will be better for it. At the age of 28 years old, he is in the prime of his career and should have an explosive season starting this fall.
Follow Us
Subscribe