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Wilkins & Grant

Charlie Rivers said:
Wilkins was the centerpiece of Miami’s defensive rebuild, known for his versatility, leadership, and ability to impact both the run and pass game.

Grant, drafted to fill the void left by Wilkins, is bigger and plays more as a true nose tackle. He’s praised for his rare athleticism at 339 lbs, ability to take on double teams, and immediate impact against the run.

While Wilkins offered more pass rush and all-around disruption, Grant projects as a dominant anchor in the middle-less flashy, but potentially transformative for Miami’s run defense and freeing up teammates to make plays.

Grant is not a 1:1 replacement for Wilkins; he brings a different skill set, but both were first-round picks expected to be foundational pieces for the Dolphins’ defensive line.

Your thoughts?

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I saw Wilkens as a good player, but nothing that special. That was why when his demands his 20M I was in favor of letting him go. Grant has so much more potential (if he doesn't eat himself out of the league). He has the ability to be Tim Bowens with pass rush capability, I hope to see him want it, which I think he does, he looks like he enjoys doing what he does on the field.
 
With Sieler and Grant (IMO they need to be looked at together) I think we will see a very good iDL. You can’t double both guys and both can beat a single blocker on a regular basis. Defenses will have to pick their poison and game plan for them. Which is a huge advantage for the Dolphins defense. If those two play like I think, Chop and Chubb will have fantastic years, also. I’m excited to see if it works out the way I believe.
 
IMO, having those two in the middle will demand less doubling the outside guy's allowing them to get pressure earlier. They will either eat up blockers on run fits or penetrate and disrupt allowing the LB's to clean up. Looking at what we drafted are guy's that seem to love to work. That can not be bad for the overall outlook and toughness of the team, despite McFancypants.
 
Wilkins was Meh, more of a goofball than a leader, got some stupid penalties, and hurt a couple of guys with stupid crlebrations.
 
67Stang said:
Wilkins was Meh, more of a goofball than a leader, got some stupid penalties, and hurt a couple of guys with stupid crlebrations.
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I think that's a bit harsh. Wilkins was a very good player but he wasn't worth the money he got. Even at $20M per year I thought the Dolphins were pushing it, we only ever saw that 1 good pass rushing year out of him (and Sieler was every bit as good that year).

Personally I thought Wilkins was in the lower end of the top 10 DT's, very good but not elite and definitely not worth $27M a season.
 
DrMultimedia said:
I'm really glad we got Grant. As they say, really big and similar to Wilkins. Particularly that both sometimes seem to vanish from games. Grant would often vanish just because he had at least two (and sometimes three) people on him so often. In the NFL they won't be able to do that.

Kinda sad that Wilkins had the injury he did. Nice guy other than grabbing balls. 🤣

Looking forward to seeing Grant as a Fin. I'm a Michigan fan so watched him in all his college games.
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Ok, being that you probably watched more Michigan games than anyone on this board, who in your opinion is the better DLineman, Grant or Mason Graham? I am assuming Mason Graham was ranked higher being drafted with the 5th pick by Cleveland...
 
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danmarino7051 said:
With Sieler and Grant (IMO they need to be looked at together) I think we will see a very good iDL. You can’t double both guys and both can beat a single blocker on a regular basis. Defenses will have to pick their poison and game plan for them. Which is a huge advantage for the Dolphins defense. If those two play like I think, Chop and Chubb will have fantastic years, also. I’m excited to see if it works out the way I believe.
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I am very optimistic for our Edges getting to eat their lunches this year, but why do you leave Phillips off this list? He is projected to start Day One this season off his injury, correct?
 
Springveldt said:
I think that's a bit harsh. Wilkins was a very good player but he wasn't worth the money he got. Even at $20M per year I thought the Dolphins were pushing it, we only ever saw that 1 good pass rushing year out of him (and Sieler was every bit as good that year).

Personally I thought Wilkins was in the lower end of the top 10 DT's, very good but not elite and definitely not worth $27M a season.
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That is kind of what I mean with meh. He was good, but not as good as where he was drafted and the money he got (good for him though). He also had too many antics. I never viewed him as a leader and was more interested in having fun than leading. He also hurt Waddle and pretty much ended Preston Williams career.
 
stillhardcore said:
Ok, being that you probably watched more Michigan games than anyone on this board, who in your opinion is the better DLineman, Grant or Mason Graham? I am assuming Mason Graham was ranked higher being drafted with the 5th pick by Cleveland...
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Yeah, Graham was ranked higher (had better stats), but Grant in top 20 or so. So often Graham would get a sack because he was single teamed and Grant had two on him.

I really think they will both be really good in the NFL. Big and really quick for their size. I think Grant was a great pick for us and will make our entire D line better this year. Hopefully.

And I'm sure some others here paid closer attention to him during the draft. I'm just a casual observer. 😀
 
I think Wilkins was more similar to Harmon and Nolen. But Grant seems like a great fit for Weaver's defense.
 
stillhardcore said:
So Weaver is going mostly 3-4? I thought we used an equal mix of 4-3 and 3-4?
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I think mostly 3-4, but Grant could be used as a big edge too. Ideally, Miami would find an edge in 2026 who can give you more of a pass rush.

Looking ahead, both Phillips and Chubb are probably not long-term answers either.
 
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