Tag: Christian Wilkins

Former Clemson DL in impressive NFL company

Former Clemson defensive lineman Christian Wilkins was outstanding in his third NFL season with the Miami Dolphins. The 2019 first-round draft pick posted 89 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 13 quarterback hits, four passes defended, a …

Former Clemson defensive lineman Christian Wilkins was outstanding in his third NFL season with the Miami Dolphins.

The 2019 first-round draft pick posted 89 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 13 quarterback hits, four passes defended, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 17 games this season.

Wilkins’ numbers are even more impressive when you dig a little deeper.

According to Pro Football Focus, the 43 defensive stops Wilkins recorded this season are the fourth most among all NFL interior defensive linemen — behind only Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams (53 defensive stops), Jeffery Simmons of the Tennessee Titans (49) and Cameron Heyward of the Pittsburgh Steelers (47).

For those who may not be familiar with the statistic, a defensive stop, per PFF, “is a play where a defender makes a tackle, and the location of the tackle means the play is a successful one for the defense. … When a defender makes a tackle that isn’t a stop, it’s a lot less likely the defender did something right on the play.”

Wilkins clearly did a lot right this season and played a big role on the Dolphins defense.

Being mentioned in a statistic with Donald, Simmons and Heyward is certainly impressive company for Wilkins, considering Donald is a seven-time first-team All-Pro, Simmons was named a second-team All-Pro in 2021 and Heyward is a three-time first-team All-Pro.

If Wilkins keeps up the type of performance he displayed this season, it won’t be long before the former Tiger starts racking up accolades of his own.

–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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Wilkins remembers draft day chest bump: ‘This is my moment’

Darien Rencher hosted his former roommate/teammate, Christian Wilkins on The Players Club Podcast recently. Rencher asked Wilkins, the former Clemson star and current Miami Dolphins defensive lineman, to go over his draft experience and his …

Darien Rencher hosted his former roommate/teammate, Christian Wilkins on The Players Club Podcast recently.

Rencher asked Wilkins, the former Clemson star and current Miami Dolphins defensive lineman, to go over his draft experience and his unforgettable chest bump with NFL commissioner Rodger Goodell.

“It was just so many emotions going on that day and when I saw the commissioner, I just lost it,” Wilkins recalled. “I’m like this is my moment, forget this. I’m going up top.”

Wilkins said he gave Goodell the signal and everything, but the commissioner didn’t quite catch on. Goodell ended up catching Wilkins on his way down.

“It was a dope experience, a dope draft moment,” he said. “I’ll remember it forever. I’m sure [Goodell] will remember it forever, the day he almost died.”

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Former Tigers standout names his top-5 Clemson D-linemen ever

Recently, former Clemson star and current Miami Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins appeared on The Players Club Podcast, a college football show hosted by now-former Clemson running back, Darien Rencher. During their conversation, Rencher …

Recently, former Clemson star and current Miami Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins appeared on The Players Club Podcast, a college football show hosted by now-former Clemson running back, Darien Rencher.

During their conversation, Rencher asked Wilkins to rattle off his top-5 Clemson defensive linemen. That’s a tall task, given the lengthy, star-studded history of the program at that position.

Here’s Wilkins’ list in no particular order:

  • Grady Jarrett
  • Vic Beasley
  • William “The Fridge” Perry
  • DaQuan Bowers
  • Gaines Adams

Even though he is more than worthy of being considered, Wilkins did not include himself. He did, however, include four former first-round draft picks and Jarrett, who was selected in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL draft.

You can watch the full interview with Rencher and Wilkins below:

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The 5 highest-graded Dolphins according to PFF in 2021

Four of the five were from the defense.

The Miami Dolphins 2021 campaign didn’t exactly go the way the players, coaches, or front office would’ve liked.

Winning eight out of their last nine games was certainly impressive, but they put themselves in too deep of a hole earlier in the season by losing seven in a row after the season opener. That caused them to fall just short of competing in the postseason for the first time under Brian Flores.

Despite missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season, the Dolphins did still get some solid performances from a lot of their young talent. These five guys were the highest-graded by Pro Football Focus.

Dolphins have two players named to PFF’s 2021 All-Pro Second-Team

The defense gets some recognition.

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With the Miami Dolphins 2021 season having come to a close, it’s time to reflect on the performances of some of the team’s top players and let them get some shine.

Pro Football Focus came out with their 2021 All-Pro teams on Monday, and the Dolphins were represented by safety Jevon Holland and defensive tackle Christian Wilkins making the Second-Team.

On the Second-Team, Wilkins was listed as an interior defensive lineman along with Chris Jones of the Chiefs. Holland was listed as a flex player and was only on the Second-Team because standout rookie linebacker Micah Parsons was the First-Team representative.

Holland finished the season playing in 16 games, recording 69 tackles, 10 passes defended, seven quarterback hits, three fumble recoveries, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, and an 84.6 grade from PFF.

Wilkins’ production was pretty similar, as he played in all 17 games, totaling 89 tackles, 13 quarterback hits, 4.5 sacks, four passes defended, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and an 83.3 PFF grade.

It’s clear that the Dolphins have some great, young talent to build around on defense.

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Wilkins has been Miami’s best this season

Christian Wilkins has had a strong season for the Miami Dolphins. But just how good has the former Clemson defensive lineman been? According to Pro Football Focus, heading into Week 17 of the NFL season, Wilkins (86.1) is the highest-graded Dolphin …

Christian Wilkins has had a strong season for the Miami Dolphins.

But just how good has the former Clemson defensive lineman been?

According to Pro Football Focus, heading into Week 17 of the NFL season, Wilkins (86.1) is the highest-graded Dolphin among those who have played at least 25 percent of the team’s snaps this season.

In 15 games this season (15 starts), Wilkins has tallied 72 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 12 quarterback hits, three passes defended, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

A first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft (13th overall), Wilkins is in his third season with the Dolphins. Thus far during his NFL career, the former three-time All-American at Clemson has recorded 175 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss and seven sacks to go with 19 quarterback hits, 10 passes defended, three fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.

–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images 

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What Titans are saying about Dolphins ahead of Week 17 matchup

A look at what the Titans are saying about the Dolphins ahead of their Week 17 matchup.

The Tennessee Titans have a chance to clinch the AFC South division title on Sunday, but they’ll have to do so against one of the league’s hottest teams in the Miami Dolphins.

Winners of their last seven consecutive games, the Dolphins became the first team to have both a seven-game losing streak and a seven-game winning streak within the same season.

The Dolphins have an immediate impact player in wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who was taken No. 6 overall in last year’s draft.

The Alabama product has racked up 96 receptions for 941 receiving yards. He has the third-most receiving yards among all rookie receivers in the NFL, and is just six receptions away from breaking the rookie record.

Of course, leading up to their matchup on Sunday, much of the conversation has revolved around how the Titans plan to limit Waddle’s damage:

“Explosive speed, decisive route-runner,” Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said.

“He’s one of the fastest guys in the league already,” Titans safety Kevin Byard added.

Here’s what else the Titans are saying about the Dolphins in advance of Sunday’s game.

Christian Wilkins doesn’t need Jaylen Waddle’s approval for his celebrations

Everybody’s having fun after six wins.

The Miami Dolphins’ win over the New York Jets on Sunday gave the team their sixth win in a row.

During those six games, the team has been having fun and showing that on the field. This week, when defensive lineman Christian Wilkins scored an offensive touchdown, he celebrated by jumping into the stands and doing the worm in the end zone.

Rookie wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who was out for this game due to COVID-19, spoke on Wednesday about his teammate’s celebration.

“I feel like Christian rehearsed that,” Waddle said.”That was like a routine he had for that.  give it a 10-out-of-10 for sure. Watching that on TV was hilarious. He did his thing.”

And, obviously, Wilkins had to take a shot at Waddle’s personal celebration.

“I appreciate Waddle’s stamp of approval,” Wilkins said. “But it doesn’t mean much because I had to teach him his celebration.”

It’s good to see the guys are staying loose and relaxed while continuing to work through this six-game win streak.

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Wilkins says he ‘went rogue’ with his wild TD celebration

Believe it or not, Christian Wilkins says he was “holding back” during his celebration after scoring a touchdown in Sunday’s game. And that’s saying something, as the former Clemson star and current Miami Dolphins defensive lineman went berserk …

Believe it or not, Christian Wilkins says he was “holding back” during his celebration after scoring a touchdown in Sunday’s game.

And that’s saying something, as the former Clemson star and current Miami Dolphins defensive lineman went berserk after catching a 1-yard touchdown pass to give the Dolphins a 24-17 lead early in the fourth quarter of their eventual 31-24 win over the New York Jets at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

“I was holding back, honestly,” Wilkins said to reporters after the game. “You ain’t seen me at a wedding or at a bar mitzvah or nothing like that. Then that’s when the moves are on full display.”

While Wilkins may not have busted out his full repertoire of celebratory antics, the 6-foot-4, 310-pounder nonetheless put on a show following his “thick-six.”

After lining up as a fullback, running a shallow route past the goal line and then securing the touchdown reception from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Wilkins leaped into the stands before doing “the worm” in the end zone, among other gestures, as his teammates danced around him.

“It was definitely exciting,” Wilkins said. “It was cool. I was happy I was able to make a play for my team. But yeah, I don’t know how I squeezed all that into 40 seconds or into however long the play clock was or whatever the heck, because I felt like I was going for a while. I enjoyed it. It was fun. Glad I could make a play for my team.”

Wilkins says his celebration wasn’t planned – instead, he had intended to pay homage to Dolphins rookie receiver Jaylen Waddle, who was out for the game due to being on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Instead, in the words of Wilkins, he ended up going “rogue” with his post-touchdown tomfoolery.

“I just went with it, just did whatever felt good in my soul,” Wilkins said. “None of it was planned. I did mess up because the one thing I did have planned if I scored today, I wanted to do ‘The Waddle.’ Obviously, Jaylen didn’t play today, so I wanted to give him some love. So, sorry about that, Jay. But yeah, I kind of went rogue with my celebration. That was the only thing I had planned.”

As Wilkins said, he reserves his full display of moves for weddings or bar mitzvahs.

So, you may ask, what dances does he break out at those festivities?

“Like I said, I don’t really like to talk about it,” Wilkins said. “I’ll be about it, you know what I’m saying. If I go to a wedding or a bar mitzvah, I’ll do my thing and have a good time with it.”

–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images 

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What They Are Saying: Reactions to Wilkin’s Touchdown

Sunday the world got to see the Christian Wilkins Clemson fans already knew. Wilkins caught a touchdown pass and the celebration was on. In this edition of What They Are Saying we look at what was said on Twitter about Wilkins touchdown. The whole …

Sunday the world got to see the Christian Wilkins Clemson fans already knew.  Wilkins caught a touchdown pass and the celebration was on.

In this edition of What They Are Saying we look at what was said on Twitter about Wilkins touchdown.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports.