Miami Is Betting Big On Defensive Tackle Roulette
Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
The price that the Miami Dolphins paid for Tua Tagovailoa’s long-awaited contract has sent shock waves throughout the NFL. How do you give Tua all that money? But for Miami, they’ve already had to work hard to replace an irreplaceable player this offseason, and it’s easy to see why they wouldn’t want to repeat what just happened to them at defensive tackle.
Superstar Christian Wilkins spent his first five years with the Dolphins and was the anchor of a defensive line that showed inconsistency outside of him. The problem for the Dolphins heading into this offseason was they simply couldn’t pay him, given all the money that they’d spent on the offense. The Las Vegas Raiders priced out Miami with a $110 million contract.
How do you replace Wilkins? You can’t. So instead of the Dolphins trying to sign one or two players to replace him or even make a trade, they had signed six different players by the end of March. They made it clear they were putting their roulette chips in as many different squares as possible to fill the void.
The big signing was Calais Campbell, who hopes to prove he is still a top-tier defensive end, even though he is 37 years old. The Dolphins have put a lot of their eggs in his basket, because it appears the drop-off after him is pretty steep. Jonathan Harris, Neville Gallimore, Isaiah Mack, and Da’Shawn Hand are all players who could be involved in the rotation. Shaquil Barrett was signed as a linebacker, but he also could have lined up on the defensive line had he not retired just a few months after being signed in South Beach.
Tackle Zach Sieler is one of the few players back from last season who should play a big role on this defensive line. Last season, Sieler finished with 10 sacks, and the expectation is that he could be one of their anchors. He’s going to need to be a big part of the rotation here.
Sieler knows what a loss Wilkins is, but is also excited about playing with some of the young guys to see what they can do.
“Yeah, [Christian and I] talk. I hope he’s doing great out there in Vegas. It was an adjustment period during OTAs, but it’s been cool to kind of learn and play with some new guys. Obviously, I wish the best for him out there, but I’m excited to play with these guys here – Calais [Campbell], [Teair] Tart, Benito [Jones], [Brandon] Pili, [De’Shawn] Hand and see what they can do.”
Sieler is also excited about playing with Campbell, who he believes can help him improve his game even more. “He’s an amazing player,” he told the media. “I’ve always watched him and respected his game throughout my whole career. I mean, he makes me feel tiny. He’s a big human being in the best sense…. I’ve always felt like I’ve tried to emulate his play style throughout my career so far. So it’s cool to learn from him this year.”
Sieler and Campbell will need to be the anchors, but the rest of the defensive line involves a lot of question marks. The Dolphins’ defensive coaches need to get the new guys involved in the system quickly, and those players will need to have some career years.
All the talk this offseason has been about the offense, and it’s definitely the engine Miami is built around. But if the Dolphins want to take the next step during the playoffs, it might come down to whether the team made the right decision with the defensive line. It’s literally the first line of defense, and if they aren’t creating pressure on the quarterback, it makes life much more difficult on the second and third levels of the defense.
In 2023, the Dolphins gave up 23 points per game, 22nd in the NFL. Tagovailoa got a lot of heat at times last season, but he often didn’t get any help from the defense. If they can find a way to surrender a few points less per week this season, then those are a few less points Tua will need to score to get this team to the next level. The Dolphins took a big chance by trying to attack this season with a defensive tackle roulette, and hopefully, their bets pay off.
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