Great writeup! Let's see how this plays out. A couple of good moves that I like. A promising young center in Brewer and Brooks who, I agree, should be an upgrade over Baker. Smith, at tight end, also should help in the passing game.
Have to question, though, if you'd rather have Chubbs than Wilkins or Ramsey than Wilkins. Plus the draft picks. I think those are questionable trades.
I think the smart teams find a way to keep players like Wilkins. Team leader, never missed a game, really the heart and soul of the defense. I think he's harder to replace than Dolphins fans think. I do hope I'm wrong there.
That’s an interesting question.
To answer it properly, I think we have to add some more players. Let’s add Robert Hunt, and Andrew Van Ginkel.
I’d rather have Chubb and Ramsay and Armstead and Tyreek Hill, and here’s why:
1. Those 4 players are all premium positions. Elite Edge, Elite Cornerback, Elite Offensive Tackle (albeit with injuries), and the most elite playmaker in the entire game.
Vs
Christian Wilkins He had one season, the last one with9 sacks. That’s going to be challenging for him to maintain. He got a lot of those during a rotation that included Chubb (11 Sacks), Sieler (10 Sacks), Wilkins (9 sacks), Phillips (6.5 Sacks), Van Ginkel (6 Sacks), and even Ogbah had 5 Sacks. What can be gleaned from this?
1. Zack Sieler had 1 more sack than he did and costs 1/3 the price.
2. The edge players are more likely than not to have multiple years where they have 10 sacks or more. Phillips was looking like a beast before he got hurt first.
3. The Baltimore ravens spent $18 million last year on their entire defensive line.
Wilkins is good, but he’s not the heart and soul of anything. He’s a freakishly athletic fat guy with a good personality. Is he one of the top 5 offensive tackles in the league? Yes. Is he worth $22 million per year (guaranteed money only)? Hell ****ing no. He’s just not. Let’s compare him to the top Defensive Tackles in the league from when he came into the league in 2019:
1. Aaron Donald 51.5 Sacks from 2019-2023
2. Chris Jones 51.5 Sacks same period
3. Quinen Williams 32.5
4. Christin Wilkins 20.5
With the exception of the first two on that list, it is a poor investment to put that much cap space on that position, even for a player that is as good as Christian Wilkins.
I can make a similar argument for Robert Hunt.
meanwhile, you can’t just ask if I’d rather have Chubb, no no Contraire, we signed and traded for Chubb, Ramsey, and Tyreek hill (in trades), plus the big money contract of Armstead. All of those were factors in us not being able to sign the players we lost.
Plus the players we need to sign or extend in their place that are a higher priority such as Phillips, Waddle, and Jevon Holland, and Tua. All of those are the actual foundational pieces of this team now.
I wish Wilkins and Hunt all the best, they are great players, and they earned their bags, but we have got some great players in their place.
As for draft picks? It’s a crap shoot vs the certainty of what we got in those 4 players I mentioned, and we will get compensatory picks next year (two 3rds) for Hunt and Wilkins. We are going to be just fine…
Having said all of that, Van Ginkel is a real kick in the nuts. Wish we could’ve kept him so. Badly.