In just over three weeks, the Miami Dolphins will open training camp for the 2020 season ahead — and with it face the prospect of building upon a promising “foundation” year. The Dolphins surprised everyone last season with a 5-4 stretch to finish the year and promptly followed suit by nailing down one of the most prolific college quarterbacks in recent history, plus a slew of new faces to add to the team.
The Dolphins will hold camp this year with fan enthusiasm as high as it has been in quite some time. But amid the restrictions of this offseason due to the ongoing health crisis, can the Dolphins rise to the challenge? We’ll be taking a look at each position group for the Dolphins ahead of the start of training camp and exploring which storylines are most pressing to monitor as Miami looks to improve in Year 2 under Brian Flores.
Here are the Dolphins’ key storylines in training camp on the defensive line.
How big of a step forward will we get from Christian Wilkins?
Wilkins’ rookie season was a slow burn — it started calm but by the end of the season Wilkins was impossible to miss on the field. There was plenty of pressure and splash plays from the Dolphins’ 2019 1st-round pick, including a touchdown reception against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 16. Wilkins was made the face of Miami’s first draft under Brian Flores in large part because of his versatility and his love of the game.
By the end of his rookie season, both of those qualities were quite apparent. But now it’s time to level up. And with more talented players surrounding him on the line, Wilkins is well positioned to do exactly that. What should we expect? So long as there’s a continuously growing presence in the opposing backfield, don’t worry too much about the sack numbers. Miami will be a rush group by committee — we just want to see Wilkins become the leader he seems destined to be for the unit.
Who will lead the Dolphins in pressures up front?
While Miami’s pass rush will be courtesy of strength in numbers, seeing who ultimately becomes the team’s most productive pass rusher is sure to be an entertaining battle. Free agent additions Shaq Lawson and Emmanuel Ogbah feel like strong bets, given their versatility to play both inside and outside as needed and their length to disrupt quarterbacks while still engaged with blockers.
Ogbah, in his first season away from Cleveland, was on pace for a career year rushing the passer (5.5 sacks in 10 games) before tearing his pectoral muscle in November against the Tennessee Titans. He’s a sneaky good bet to lead the team in disruptions.
Where will we see the most of rookie DL Raekwon Davis?
We know for a fact Brian Flores is excited to have Raekwon Davis become a Miami Dolphin.
But where should we expect to see Davis take the field with the most consistency for Miami? We could feasibly see him on the nose in pass rush situations, we could see him in the B-gap or even as a base end. The diversity of Davis’ potential is exactly why Flores was grinning ear to ear when the card was turned in. With his athleticism and pure strength, we could see Davis in a number of different spots with each matchup — which is exactly how Flores likes it: with opposing teams have more possibilities to prepare for.
