Buffalo Bills: Ranking the defensive lines of the AFC East
By Rob Spehar
2) Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins threw around a ton of money this offseason and a lot of it was spent on the defense. They really needed to address the defensive line to improve the pass rush and they made good on that need. This group can really improve but it remains to be seen as to how much.
On the interior you have two big guys in Christian Wilkins and Davon Godchaux. The rebuilding of the defensive line began last year with the selection of Wilkins out of Clemson and he had an okay rookie year with 49 tackles, two sacks, two passes defended and a receiving touchdown.
Godchaux is entering his fourth year with Miami and he had a decent season tallying 70 tackles, two sacks and one pass defended. This pair can form a formidable duo when things are going their way.
General manager Chris Grier was a busy boy during the offseason signing two defensive ends to line up on either side of Wilkins and Godchaux. First he lured Shaq Lawson from the rival Buffalo Bills, who had a career year last season. Through 15 games, he had 30 tackles, 6.5 sacks, two passes defended and one forced fumble. On the other side, there will be Super Bowl Champion Emmanuel Ogbah. The former Kansas City Chief played in only 10 games but he still did produce good numbers with 30 tackles, 5.5 sacks, three passes defended, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
There is no doubt that this line has gotten stronger and will be ready to improve on last seasons numbers. Do not sleep on rookie defensive lineman Raekwon Davis out of Alabama. A very versatile player that will have opposing teams preparing for different possibilities which head coach Brian Flores likes. He also hopes that Wilkins will take that next big step forward and become the leader that he is destined for. But for now, this unit will produce numbers by committee.