Christian Wilkins
{{Short description|American football player (born 1995)}}
{{For|the Australian model and actor|Christian Wilkins (model)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Christian Wilkins
| image = Christian Wilkins.jpg
| caption = Wilkins with the Clemson Tigers in 2016
| current_team = Las Vegas Raiders
| number = 94
| position = Defensive tackle
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1995|12|20}}
| birth_place = Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 4
| weight_lb = 310
| high_school = Framingham (Framingham, Massachusetts) Suffield Academy (Suffield, Connecticut)
| college = Clemson (2015–2018)
| draftyear = 2019
| draftround = 1
| draftpick = 13
| pastteams =
- Miami Dolphins ({{NFL Year|2019|2023}})
- Las Vegas Raiders ({{NFL Year|2024}}–present)
| status = Active
| highlights =
- 2× CFP national champion (2016, 2018)
- William V. Campbell Trophy (2018)
- Bill Willis Trophy (2017)
- Unanimous All-American (2018)
- 2× First-team All-American (2016, 2017)
- 2× First-team All-ACC (2017, 2018)
- Second-team All-ACC (2016)
| statleague = NFL
| statseason = 2024
| statweek =
| statlabel1 = Total tackles
| statvalue1 = 372
| statlabel2 = Sacks
| statvalue2 = 22.5
| statlabel3 = Forced fumbles
| statvalue3 = 4
| statlabel4 = Fumble recoveries
| statvalue4 = 6
| statlabel5 = Interceptions
| statvalue5 = 1
| statlabel6 = Pass deflections
| statvalue6 = 19
| statlabel7 = Touchdowns
| statvalue7 =
| pfr = WilkCh00
}}
Christian Wilkins (born December 20, 1995) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tigers and was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft.
Early life
Wilkins is a native of Springfield, Massachusetts. He originally attended Framingham High School, before transferring to Suffield Academy in Suffield, Connecticut, after his freshman year.{{Cite web |last=Whelan Jr. |first=Tim |date=February 15, 2015 |title=Framingham's Wilkins living out football dreams at Suffield Academy |url=http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20150215/sports/150217428 |access-date=May 18, 2023 |website=Milford Daily News}} In 35 games in high school he had 253 tackles and 28.5 sacks.{{Cite web |last=Rittenberg |first=Adam |date=November 30, 2016 |title=The moment that changed Clemson star Christian Wilkins' life |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/18164609/the-moment-changed-clemson-tigers-defensive-end-christian-wilkins-life |access-date=February 2, 2024 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}} Wilkins was rated as a five-star recruit and was ranked among the top players in his class.{{Cite web |title=Christian Wilkins, 2015 Defensive Tackle, Clemson |url=https://rivals.com/content/athletes/christian-wilkins-12719?view=pv |access-date=February 2, 2024 |website=Rivals.com |language=en-US}} He committed to play college football at Clemson University.{{Cite web |last=Hall |first=Brendan C. |date=2015-01-06 |title=Suffield's Christian Wilkins commits to Clemson |url=https://www.espn.com/blog/boston/high-school/post/_/id/35413/suffields-christian-wilkins-commits-to-clemson |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}
College career
As a freshman at Clemson in 2015, Wilkins played in 15 games with one start and had 33 tackles and two sacks.{{Cite web |last=CONNER |first=DESMOND |title=Christian Wilkins The Complete Package At Clemson |url=http://www.courant.com/sports/college/hc-clemson-christian-wilkins-0821-20160821-story.html}}{{cite web | title=Player to watch: Christian Wilkins’ versatility anchors Clemson defensive line | website=Independent Mail | date=2016-07-26 | url=https://archive.independentmail.com/sports/college/clemson/player-to-watch-christian-wilkins-versatility-anchors-clemson-defensive-line-383e96d7-2047-7420-e053-388261531.html | access-date=2024-10-10}} As a sophomore in 2016, he was named an All-American by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.{{cite web | last=James | first=Pat | title=Clemson lineman among 5 finalists for Bronko Nagurski Trophy as nation’s top defender | website=Charlotte Observer | date=2016-11-17 | url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/college/article115220353.html | access-date=2024-10-10}} Wilkins was part of the Clemson team that defeated top-ranked Alabama in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship by a score of 35–31.{{Cite web |title=College Football Championship - Clemson vs Alabama Box Score, January 9, 2017 |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/2017-01-09-alabama.html |access-date=October 19, 2017 |publisher=Sports Reference}} He also was part of Clemson’s 2018 team that defeated Alabama in the National Championship game led by Trevor Lawrence 44-16.{{Cite web |title=College Football Playoff National Championship - Clemson vs Alabama Box Score, January 7, 2019 |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/2019-01-07-alabama.html |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=Sports Reference |language=en}} In the Florida State game and South Carolina game of 2018, Wilkins scored a touchdown for the Tigers.
=College statistics=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ College statistics ! rowspan="2" | Year ! rowspan="2" | GP ! colspan="5" | Tackles ! colspan="5" | Interceptions ! colspan="4" | Fumbles | |||||||||||||
| Solo | Ast | Total | Loss | Sack | Int | Yards | Avg | TD | PD | FR | Yards | TD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015
| 11 || 18 || 15 || 33 || 4.5 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 | |||||||||||||
| 2016
| 15 || 24 || 24 || 48 || 13.0 || 3.5 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 9 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2017
| 14 || 27 || 33 || 60 || 9.0 || 5 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2018
| 15 || 25 || 26 || 51 || 14.0 || 5.5 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 1 |
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 3 1/4
| weight = 315
| arm span = 32 1/2
| hand span = 9 3/4
| dash = 5.04
| ten split = 1.76
| twenty split = 2.94
| shuttle = 4.55
| vertical = 29.5
| broad ft = 8
| broad in = 11
| bench = 28
| wonderlic = 19
| note = All values from 2019 NFL Combine{{Cite web |title=Christian Wilkins Draft and Combine Prospect Profile |url=https://www.nfl.com/prospects/christian-wilkins/32005749-4c08-1088-ad8a-aada01ec7ce9 |access-date=March 4, 2019 |website=NFL.com |publisher=National Football League}}{{Cite web |title=2019 NFL Draft Scout Christian Wilkins College Football Profile |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=1002502&DraftYear=2019 |access-date=October 23, 2023 |website=DraftScout.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://thespun.com/college-football/the-wonderlic-scores-for-nfl-drafts-top-prospects-have-leaked|title = The Wonderlic Scores for NFL Draft's Top Prospects Have Leaked|date = April 22, 2019}}
}}
=Miami Dolphins=
Wilkins was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the first round (13th overall) of the 2019 NFL draft.{{cite web | last=Patra | first=Kevin | title=Christian Wilkins wants to fill Wade's shoes in Miami | website=NFL.com | date=2019-04-26 | url=https://www.nfl.com/news/christian-wilkins-wants-to-fill-wade-s-shoes-in-miami-0ap3000001028237 | access-date=2024-10-10}} In a Week 7 loss of 21-31 to the Buffalo Bills, Wilkins was ejected after throwing a punch at Cody Ford on the second play of the game.{{Cite web |last=Zucker |first=Joseph |title=Dolphins' Christian Wilkins Ejected for Throwing Punch on 2nd Play vs. Bills |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2858983-dolphins-christian-wilkins-ejected-for-throwing-punch-on-2nd-play-vs-bills |access-date=July 1, 2020 |website=Bleacher Report |language=en}} In Week 9 against the New York Jets, Wilkins recorded his first career sack on Sam Darnold in the 26–18 win.{{Cite web |date=November 3, 2019 |title=Dolphins get first win of 2019, top Jets 26-18 |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/recap?gameId=401128080 |access-date=November 3, 2019 |website=ESPN}} In Week 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Wilkins recorded his first career touchdown reception on a pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick in the 38–35 overtime victory.{{Cite web |title=Cincinnati Bengals at Miami Dolphins - December 22nd, 2019 |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201912220mia.htm |access-date=July 1, 2020 |website=Pro Football Reference |language=en}}
In Week 8 of the 2020 season against the Los Angeles Rams, Wilkins recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Jared Goff during the 28–17 win.{{Cite web |title=Los Angeles Rams at Miami Dolphins – November 1st, 2020 |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/202011010mia.htm |access-date=November 4, 2020 |website=Pro Football Reference |language=en}} Wilkins was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on November 12, 2020,{{Cite news |date=November 12, 2020 |title=Lynn Bowden Jr. Activated, Three Others Placed on Reserve/COVID List |work=MiamiDolphins.com |url=https://www.miamidolphins.com/news/lynn-bowden-jr-activated-three-others-placed-on-reserve-covid-list |access-date=December 19, 2020 |archive-date=December 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202180738/https://www.miamidolphins.com/news/lynn-bowden-jr-activated-three-others-placed-on-reserve-covid-list |url-status=dead }} and activated on November 25.{{Cite news |date=November 25, 2020 |title=Activated Christian Wilkins Off Reserve/COVID-19 List |work=MiamiDolphins.com |url=https://www.miamidolphins.com/news/activated-christian-wilkins-off-reserve-covid-19-list |access-date=December 19, 2020}}
In Week 15 of 2021 against the Jets, Wilkins lined up at fullback and recorded his second career touchdown on a flea flicker pass from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.{{cite web | last=Wagner | first=Jonathan | title=WATCH: Christian Wilkins pulls out hilarious celebration after first career touchdown | website=On3 | date=2021-12-19 | url=https://www.on3.com/pro/news/watch-christian-wilkins-pulls-out-hilarious-celebration-worm-after-first-career-touchdown-miami-dolphins/ | access-date=2024-10-10}}
The Dolphins picked up the fifth-year option on Wilkins' contract on April 28, 2022.{{cite web | title=Fifth-year option tracker for first-round picks from the 2019 NFL Draft | website=NFL.com | date=2022-04-25 | url=https://www.nfl.com/news/fifth-year-option-tracker-for-first-round-picks-from-the-2019-nfl-draft | access-date=2024-10-10}}
Wilkins finished 2023 with a career-high nine sacks, establishing himself as a top tier player at his position.{{Cite web |title=Christian Wilkins Stats, News and Video - DT |url=https://www.nfl.com/players/christian-wilkins/ |access-date=March 11, 2024 |website=NFL.com |language=en-US}}
=Las Vegas Raiders=
On March 14, 2024, the Las Vegas Raiders signed Wilkins to a four-year deal worth $110 million, with $84.75 million guaranteed.{{cite web |title=Raiders sign DT Christian Wilkins |url=https://www.raiders.com/news/raiders-sign-christian-wilkins-defensive-tackle-nfl-2024-free-agency-transactions |website=Raiders.com |access-date=March 14, 2024}} Wilkins produced 17 tackles, 2 sacks and 6 QB hits before suffering a foot injury in Week 5 against the Denver Broncos. He is out indefinitely following surgery to repair a Jones fracture.{{cite web |last=Gordon |first=Grant |title=Raiders DT Christian Wilkins (foot) out indefinitely following surgery |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/raiders-dt-christian-wilkins-foot-out-indefinitely-following-surgery |website=NFL.com |date=October 8, 2024 |access-date=October 9, 2024}}
NFL career statistics
| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
! colspan="2" |Legend |
| Bold
|Career high |
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="4"| Tackles ! colspan="4"| Fumbles ! colspan="6"| Interceptions | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | FF | FR | Yds | TD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD |
| 2019 ||MIA
| 16 || 14 || 56 || 30 || 26 || 2.0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 2 | |||||||||||||||
| 2020 ||MIA
| 14 || 12 || 47 || 28 || 19 || 1.5 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 8 || 8.0 || 8 || 0 || 5 | |||||||||||||||
| 2021 ||MIA
| 17 || 17 || 89 || 49 || 40 || 4.5 || 1 || 1 || 9 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 4 | |||||||||||||||
| 2022 ||MIA
| 17 || 17 || 98 || 59 || 39 || 3.5 || 2 || 1 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 6 | |||||||||||||||
| 2023 ||MIA
| 17 || 17 || 65 || 38 || 27 || 9.0 || 1 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 2 | |||||||||||||||
| 2024 ||LV
| 5 || 5 || 17 || 11 || 6 || 2.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| colspan="2"|[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WilkCh00.htm Career] || 86 || 82 || 372 || 215 || 157 || 22.5 || 4 || 6 || 11 ||| 0 || 1 || 8 || 8.0 || 8 || 0 || 19 |
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
Further reading
- {{Cite news |last=Bachman |first=Rachel |date=April 26, 2019 |title=The NFL Draft's Most Frugal Player |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-most-frugal-player-in-the-nfl-draft-11556020802?mod=e2tw |access-date=April 26, 2019 |quote=Former Clemson star Christian Wilkins, a projected first-round NFL draft pick, says he’ll bring his radical penny-pinching to the pros}}
External links
- {{Football stats}} [https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/christian-wilkins-1.html Sports Reference (college)]
- {{Twitter}}
- [https://www.raiders.com/team/players-roster/christian-wilkins/ Las Vegas Raiders bio]
- [http://clemsontigers.com/sports/football/roster/season/2018/christian-wilkins/ Clemson Tigers bio]
{{Las Vegas Raiders roster navbox}}
{{Navboxes
|title=Christian Wilkins—awards, championships, and honors
|list1=
{{2016 Clemson Tigers football navbox}}
{{2018 Clemson Tigers football navbox}}
{{William V. Campbell Trophy}}
{{2018 NCAA Division I FBS College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{2019 NFL Draft}}
{{DolphinsFirstPick}}
{{Dolphins2019DraftPicks}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkins, Christian}}
Category:All-American college football players
Category:American football defensive ends
Category:American football defensive tackles
Category:Clemson Tigers football players
Category:Framingham High School alumni
Category:Las Vegas Raiders players
Category:Miami Dolphins players
Category:Players of American football from Springfield, Massachusetts