USA TODAY’s Draft Wire has released their ranking of the top 50 rookies of the 2019 NFL season — and Dolphins fans should be pleased to know that there was some respect put on the Miami Dolphins’ class of 2019. No Dolphins cracked the upper echelon of the rankings, but there are two Dolphins representatives on the top-50 list.
1st-round defensive tackle Christian Wilkins and undrafted free agent wide receiver Preston Williams where Miami’s recognized talent.
In a perfect world, perhaps undrafted free agent cornerback Nik Needham sneaks into the top 50, but there should — generally speaking — be no complaints for Miami’s representation here. The Dolphins’ rookie class was lean in 2019 after a mediocre 7-9 finish left the Dolphins stranded in the middle of the 1st-round as they undertook a late winter regime change.
With just two selections in the top-75 of the 2019 NFL Draft, Miami was always going to have their hands full getting a big haul in 2019. But the team appears to have struck gold with both Williams and Needham, with both undrafted free agents starting and finishing their seasons in very different ways.
Williams was a standout star from the beginning of camp and was on pace to challenge for between 900 and 1,000 receiving yards before an injury against the Jets in Miami’s 8th game cost him the rest of his season. Needham? He continuously improved throughout the course of the year, ultimately climaxing with some strong play at cornerback as the team tried to withstand weekly losses to the secondary.
And then there’s Wilkins, the face of Miami’s 2019 draft class. He started slow, but ultimately found the disruptive qualities that made him a tour de force at Clemson.
And with two included in the top-50 rookies of 2019 and one questionable snub, there’s little doubt the Dolphins’ 2019 rookie class will have plenty to say about the turnaround in 2020, too.
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