When the Miami Dolphins picked Christian Wilkins with the No. 13 selection in the 2019 NFL draft, it was step one in general manager Chris Grier’s attempt to rebuild the team’s struggling defense.
Five years later, Wilkins left the Dolphins to join the Las Vegas Raiders having never won a playoff game in Miami. The defensive tackle did, however, play a massive part in turning the Dolphins into a team that has a streak of four consecutive winning seasons and back-to-back postseason appearances.
“There was nothing more that I wanted to do than to bring Miami a winner,” Wilkins said on a podcast with Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Arik Armstead that premiered Wednesday. “Give this city, give these people, give this organization what it deserves. So that was obviously a lot of my focus, just to at least do my part.
“Whatever that was from a leadership standpoint, from a playing standpoint, community standpoint, I just always tried to do my part and put my best foot forward there. And just put, literally my heart and soul, into every aspect of everything while I was here with the Dolphins.”
Wilkins’ time with the Dolphins came to an end simply because the team couldn’t afford him. Neither the $22.1 franchise tag nor the four-year, $110 million deal he signed with the Las Vegas Raiders were going to fit into Miami’s relatively tight budget.
So instead, Wilkins was forced to head elsewhere.
“Obviously, now it’s different, it’s a little tough to move to another organization after you put so much into a team and an organization,” Wilkins told Armstead. “But I definitely feel like I’m ready for it. I’m excited for this new challenge.”
The Dolphins signed defensive tackles Teair Tart, Neville Gallimore, Jonathan Harris, Benito Jones, and Isaiah Mack in March and April.
