Heading into 2025, the Dolphins need help along the defensive front seven.
Calais Campbell is a pending free agent who might retire and even if he does come back, he is only a stop-gap solution.
The other rotational defensive tackles alongside Zach Sieler are Benito Jones and Da’shawn Hand, both of whom are free agents as well.
Along the edge of the Miami defense, the situation is the same.
Bradley Chubb, who missed all of last season due to injury, is a question mark due to his age and salary cap number, while Jaelan Phillips is trying to bounce back after having his last two seasons cut short due to lower extremity injuries.
Regardless if any of these players are brought back to the team this season, the Dolphins need reinforcements and they can look to the same college to find them.
The reigning national champion, Ohio State Buckeyes.
First up on the list is defensive tackle Tyleik Williams.
Williams would be a large presence in the middle of the Dolphins’ front, as he stands at 6’3, 334 pounds which would be a nice addition for Miami defensive coordinator, as he had a similar player in terms of size in Michael Pierce.
With his size and strength, Williams would be an immediate help to the Dolphins’ run defense as he would be able to take on multiple defenders which would allow for Jordyn Brooks to run free from his off-ball linebacker spot.
He is also quicker for his size, which helps him make up for his shorter arm length.
Williams also has a knack for getting after the opposing quarterback, as evidenced by his 11.5 career sacks at Ohio State.
If the Dolphins re-sign Campbell and Jones, Williams could play a limited number of snaps to ease him into the pro-game early in the season before seeing more time in November, December and January as the weather gets colder and the running game becomes more of a factor.
Next on the list is Jack Sawyer, who at 6’5 and 260 pounds, would be a bigger edge defender and could play inside as well as a five-technique on more obvious passing downs.
What Sawyer lacks in pure quickness, he makes up for with hand strength, as the native of Pickerington, Ohio, showed with his career-high nine sacks in his final season in Columbus.
Sawyer also has a tendency to make clutch plays as his sack and ensuing fumble return for a touchdown sealed the CFP semifinal win over Texas, which ultimately gave Ohio State the boost it needed as it won the national championship.
Like Williams, Sawyer could be used early in his pro career as primarily a run defender to give Phillips and Chop Robinson a breather on early downs and then as he progresses, Sawyer could be utilized more on passing downs against smaller guards inside.
Miami needs more proven winners to add an edge to their team and there is no better way to add that than by grabbing two reigning national champions.
