MIAMI _ Christian Wilkins, the Miami Dolphins' energetic, boisterous, 315-pound rookie defensive lineman, made his way to the offensive huddle.
His opportunity was here.
On second and goal from the 1 yard line on the Dolphins' first drive against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Wilkins lined up as a fullback, ran to his right and waited for Ryan Fitzpatrick's pass.
He caught it _ one-handed nonetheless _ fumbled it and fell on it in the end zone. He chest bumped tight end Durham Smythe and jumped into offensive lineman Jesse Davis' arms.
Christian Wilkins just scored his first career NFL touchdown.
"Style points for the one-handed catch," Wilkins said, "but lost points for the ball security. It is what it is. I'll take it."
He followed it up shortly afterward in the Dolphins' 38-35 overtime win with a sack, making him just the 10th player in NFL history to catch a touchdown on offense and record a sack on defense. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Vita Vea also accomplished the feat this season. It hadn't happened at the NFL level before that since JJ Watt did it twice in 2014.
"I'm a d-lineman at heart, so the sacks will trump everything," Wilkins said. "I love touchdowns. Hopefully this is the first of many in my career. Nothing like sacks, though. That was the icing on the cake."
Fitzpatrick said he had worked on that play with Wilkins only a few times in practice.
But considering Wilkins' athleticism and prior success on the offensive side of the ball _ he had three offensive touchdowns during his college days at Clemson _ it didn't take long for the veteran quarterback to trust the rookie defensive lineman's receiving prowess.
"The first time I threw it to him I threw it as hard as I could � not that that's real fast � but I threw it as hard as I could just to see what kind of athlete he was," Fitzpatrick said. "I think we all knew what kind of athlete he was, but it was natural. He's a natural pass catcher, so I'm very comfortable with him in that situation. He did a nice job. That was fun for everybody."
Wilkins added: "They always say 'the more you can do in this league.' I felt like I could do a little bit of everything."
Wilkins certainly has made an impact. The 24-year-old rookie has 53 tackles and two sacks with one game left in his first NFL season.
His next task: Getting coach Brian Flores to join in the mid-game celebrations.
"I tried to get Flo to jump with me," Wilkins said. "He wasn't having it. It's all good."
