Once Chris Jones and Justin Madubuike agreed to long-term deals to stay with the Chiefs and Ravens, the top star available at defensive tackle on the free agency market was Christian Wilkins.
Wilkins is coming off his most productive year as an interior pass rusher, recording nine sacks and 23 QB hits for the Dolphins to go along with a pair of fumble recoveries and 65 combined tackles. Given how much NFL teams have grown to value interior linemen who can apply pressure on quarterbacks up the middle, that kind of season going into a free agency year figured to be very lucrative for Wilkins.
Sure enough, around 90 minutes into free agency, Wilkins struck a monster deal with the Las Vegas Raiders that will pay him nearly $85 million in guaranteed money and up to $110 million over four years.
Former Dolphins DT Christian Wilkins is signing a 4-year, $110 million base value deal that includes $84.75M million guaranteed with the Raiders, per his agent @DavidMulugheta. pic.twitter.com/5Tl4heT4YN
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2024
With Antonio Pierce now as the full-time head coach, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Raiders would look to build out their defense even more going into next year. Spending big on Wilkins gives them a formidable defensive line that should be able to apply pressure on opposing quarterbacks from inside and out, as they already have one of the top edge rushers in the league in Maxx Crosby. A year ago, the Raiders only had 19 quarterback hits from their defensive tackles, four fewer than Wilkins had by himself in Miami. Adding him should considerably improve their pass rush as well as stabilize their front overall, and gives Pierce the kind of defensive line he’ll feel he can build a defense around.
