Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Davon Godchaux is, by all accounts, exactly the kind of defender the team wants to have in their building. Godchaux is an A+ personality in the community, he’s a blue collar player and he’s stout and physical as a point of attack defender. Consider that a number of key boxes checked. But Godchaux is entering into a critical time with Miami — it is his contract year. And if the Dolphins are going to keep Godchaux in the picture, they’re going to have to come to an agreement on what his value is for the team.
Godchaux would certainly love to get anything that looks like the monster 4-year extension the Green Bay Packers just signed NT Kenny Clark to but that is, at this point, a pipe dream. Clark is one of the best interior defenders in the game, whereas Godchaux has been, at least to this point, more of a persistent and reliable role player up front. With 3 career sacks and 10 career tackles for loss over three seasons, splash plays are the missing link for Godchaux and a premiere contract. Instead, look for Godchaux’s next deal, with Miami or otherwise, to look more like the extension that Green Bay gave Clark’s line-mate, Dean Lowry back in 2019. Lowry got his 3-year extension, worth $20.3M, at the same timeframe that Godchaux is entering into now: ahead of his 4th NFL season .
At the time of the signing, Lowry had played in 47 games with 19 starts over 1,348 snaps— logging 7 career sacks and 13 tackles for loss. Godchaux’s 3 career sacks and 10 tackles for loss have come over 47 games (37 starts) and 1,892 snaps.
On a per-play basis, Godchaux’s splash plays are less frequent — but he’s still a reliable point of attack defender and he plays a thankless position as a non-penetration style interior defender. The payroll for Lowry’s deal came in just short of $7M per season; any offer Godchaux receives from the team will probably check in around $6M per season. From there, it’s up to Godchaux to determine if he feels he’s worth more. But the offer has to come first, so consider the Dolphins “on the clock” on that front. They have plenty of time, but this is a storyline worth monitoring.