Free-Agent Defensive Lineman No. 1
Christian Wilkins
2023 Team: Miami Dolphins
Anyone who watched HBO's "Hard Knocks: In Season with the Miami Dolphins" this year knows what Christian Wilkins brings to the table.
He has a non-stop motor and is a valuable leader not only for the defensive line but the entire defensive unit. The 2023 season was Wilkins’s fifth in South Florida and he played very well.
In addition to his career-high nine sacks, Wilkins started all 17 games for the third year in a row and he finished with 65 combined tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 23 QB hits, two pass deflections, and one forced fumble.
The 6-foot-4, 310-pound Wilkins has a fierce pass rush and is a bear to block against the run.
Pro Football Focus graded him in the mid-to-high 70s for several of its defensive categories and noted that Wilkins set career highs in several areas.
The Dolphins failed to extend him before the start of the 2023 season and that may just work in Minnesota’s favor in 2024.