As the hours continue to count down to the draft, there are a few more decisions to made on 2019 first rounders. Another one has been made this morning, with the Dolphins picking up the fifth-year option on defensive tackle Christian Wilkins (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe). 
The 26-year-old was taken 13th overall by the Dolphins as one of several highly-touted defensive linemen in that year’s class. He earned significant playing time right away in his rookie season, carrying a workload which has remained similar throughout his three-year career.
Wilkins posted 56 tackles and a pair of sacks in his first year, and put up similar numbers in 2020. This past season, though, he took a step forward with 89 stops (which ranked second on the team), 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble. That has established the Clemson alum as a “foundational player” for the team’s defense, as Wolfe notes. Along with Emmanuel Ogbah and Jaelan Phillips, he was a large part of the reason why the Dolphins ranked sixth in the league in sacks last season.
Still waiting for his first Pro Bowl invitation, Wilkins’ fifth year will come in at a lower price than some of his other d-line counterparts. He will earn a fully guaranteed $10.753MM in 2023, which could represent solid market value at the position by that time. Given his age and career arc, though, a long-term extension somewhere down the line would come as little surprise as well.
Next move: decline the 2023 option on the uniforms and make the throw-backs permanent.