Life without Christian Wilkins: Where does Miami’s defensive line stand?

Choosing to part ways with Christian Wilkins wasn’t an easy decision for the Miami Dolphins, After anchoring Miami’s defensive front for five seasons, Wilkins signed a monster four-year $110 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders.

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So, what’s next for Miami?

In recent years, the Dolphins featured one of the most consistent defensive tackle duos with Wilkins and Zach Sieler each finishing in the top four for most snap played by a defensive linemen last season.

Sieler, 28, finished the 2024 season with 22 quarterback hits, 11 tackles for a loss, and ten sacks. There’s little doubt that he’ll do most of Miami’s heavy lifting in the trenches after signing a three-year extension with $20 million guaranteed last August.

Outside of that, however, is a bit of a mystery. Pro Football Focus released its annual defensive line rankings and lead NFL analyst Sam Monson’s outlook on the Dolphins isn’t necessarily promising.

“The loss of Christian Wilkins removes arguably Miami’s best player from this group, and they said goodbye to Andrew Van Ginkel after his career year,” Monson wrote. “Miami is also dealing with every edge rusher of significance coming off an injury late in the season.

“Zach Sieler is an extremely underrated player inside, and Calais Campbell can still be effective, but this is a group long on questions.”

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Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips are recovering from season-ending leg injuries, which played a role in Miami dropping 21 spots in just one season. While their timelines aren’t clear, the Dolphins drafted Chop Robinson in the first round and signed former Tampa Bay Buccaneers edge defender Shaq Barrett to eat up snaps until Chubb and Phillips are ready to return.

Despite entering his 17th season, Campbell should boost the unit as Monson mentioned. On top of that, the Dolphins have signed defensive tackles Neville Gallimore, Benito Jones, Teair Tart, and a few others in hopes of filling the void left by Wilkins’ departure.

Let us know what you think — who will step in and be a difference-maker in the trenches for the Dolphins in 2024? Will Robinson hit the ground running in his rookie year? Can Miami stop the run without Wilkins making a mess in the middle? Who will capture the starting job next to Sieler?