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.