Christian Wilkins (born December 20, 1995) is an American football defensive end for the Miami Dolphins of National Football League (NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Clemson and was drafted by the Dolphins in the first round of the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

Early years

Wilkins originally attended Framingham High School. He is a native of

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

before transferring to

Suffield Academy Suffield Academy is a private preparatory school located in Suffield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1833 to train young men for ministry in the Baptist Church. The tuition fees for students are currently $65,000 for boarders and $38,700 for day s ...

in Suffield, Connecticut after his freshman year. In 35 games in high school he had 253 tackles and 28.5 sacks. Wilkins was rated as a five-star recruit and was ranked among the top players in his class. He committed to play college football at Clemson University.

College career

As a freshman at Clemson in 2015, Wilkins played in 15 games with one start and had 33 tackles and two sacks. As a sophomore in 2016, he was named an All-American by the

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

(FWAA) and was a finalist for the

Bronko Nagurski Trophy The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athle ...

. Wilkins was part of the Clemson team that defeated top-ranked Alabama in the

2017 College Football Playoff National Championship The 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship was a bowl game that was used to determine a national champion of college football in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the 2016 season. The game was played at Raymond Jame ...

by a score of 35–31. He also was part of Clemson’s 2018 team that defeated Alabama in the National Championship game lead by Trevor Lawrence 44-16. In the Florida State game and South Carolina game of 2018, Wilkins scored a touchdown for the Tigers.

College statistics

Professional career

2019

Wilkins was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the first round (13th overall) of the

. In a Week 7 21-31 loss to the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, Wilkins was ejected after throwing a punch at

Cody Ford Cody Ford (born December 28, 1996) is an American football offensive guard for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma. He has played in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinal ...

on the second play of the game. In Week 9 against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, Wilkins recorded his first career sack on

Sam Darnold Samuel Richard Darnold (born June 5, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC, where he became the first freshman to win the Archie Griffin Awar ...

in the 26–18 win. In Week 16 against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

, Wilkins recorded his first career touchdown reception on a pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick in the 38–35 overtime victory.

2020

In Week 8 against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

, Wilkins recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by

Jared Goff Jared Thomas Goff (born October 14, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California, where he set the Pac-12 Conference season records for passing ...

during the 28–17 win. Wilkins was placed on the reserve/ COVID-19 list by the team on November 12, 2020, and activated on November 25.

2021

In week 15 against the

, Wilkins lined up at fullback and recorded his second career touchdown on a flick pass from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

2022

The Dolphins picked up the fifth-year option on Wilkins' contract on April 28, 2022.

References

External links

Sports Reference (college)
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Miami Dolphins bioClemson Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkins, Christian 1995 births All-American college football players American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Clemson Tigers football players Framingham High School alumni Living people Miami Dolphins players Players of American football from Massachusetts Sportspeople from Springfield, Massachusetts