The Miami Dolphins’ face of the 2019 NFL Draft class, DL Christian Wilkins, hasn’t necessarily been off to the hottest of starts in the NFL. He did log his first career sack last weekend against the New York Jets, but by and large, Dolphins fans were probably expecting a bit more disruption up front from the 13th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Wilkins’ stat line at the end of his first half of an NFL season?
28 combined tackles, 1.0 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and a pass defensed.
His usage is floating consistently somewhere around 65% of the Dolphins’ defensive reps, too — so he’s been a key fixture along the Dolphins’ defensive line. His draft status has supplied him with high expectations, so much so that some are expressing they’d have hoped to see more. But when you put Wilkins’ season thus far into the context of what his contemporaries have been able to do, his year looks quite different.
New York Jets DT Quinnen Williams (3rd overall) – 19 combined tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and a pass defensed
Buffalo Bills DT Ed Oliver (9th overall) – 20 combined tackles 1.0 sacks, 1 tackle for loss and a pass defensed
New York Giants DT Dexter Lawrence (17th overall) – 24 combined tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 tackles for loss
Los Angeles Chargers DT Jerry Tillery (28th overall) – 9 combined tackles, 1.5 sacks
Wilkins’ season thus far falls right in line with his contemporaries; life in the NFL is faster, the opposition is more polished and the opportunity to find that same dominant presence up front against the pros takes some time. So while yes, it would have been awesome to see Wilkins step into the lineup and dominate right away, that’s no cause for concern. He’s right on schedule, and starting to turn up the heat with his play in recent weeks.
