The Miami Dolphins defense is at full strength these days, a rare occurrence in a league where attrition is such a factor, but that doesn't mean they still couldn't use some help in certain areas.
In particular, the Dolphins remain pretty thin when it comes to interior defensive linemen, which made a tweet by ESPN reporter Jeremy Fowler all the more interesting. The report indicated that veteran defensive tackle Akiem Hicks has had conversations with some teams though he remains undecided whether to play this season.
Hicks, who is celebrating his 34th birthday Thursday, last played with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season, but more significantly spent the previous six seasons with the Chicago Bears.
That included three years when the defensive coordinator was none other than Vic Fangio, and it was during those three seasons that Hicks had his best statistical outputs with 7, 8.5 and 7.5 sacks from 2016-18. It also was during that time that Hicks earned the only Pro Bowl invitation of his NFL career when he was selected to the all-star game in 2018, Fangio's last season with the Bears before he became head coach of the Denver Broncos before joining the Dolphins as defensive coordinator this year.
So the fit is there for Hicks to join the Dolphins.
HOW HICKS COULD HELP
Hicks has started 121 of his 149 games, but it would be in a backup role that he could help the Dolphins because Miami already has two very good down linemen in Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler.
But the Dolphins also have only four interior linemen on the 53-man roster, the other two being Raekwon Davis and Da'Shawn Hand, and adding another certainly wouldn't hurt.
Along with bringing in depth to help in the event of injuries, having someone like Hicks around could help lessen the heavy, heavy work load that Wilkins and Sieler have had throughout the 2023 season.
Based on our research, Wilkins and Sieler both rank in the top seven in the NFL in playing time among interior defensive linemen.
Wilkins has played 465 snaps (77.4 percent of the team's defensive snaps) and Sieler is at 454 snaps (75.5 snaps). The only defensive linemen around the NFL with a higher percentage of their team's defensive snaps are Aaron Donald of the Rams, Jeffery Simmons of the Titans, Derrick Brown of the Carolina Panthers, and Washington Commanders teammates Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen.
So far in 2023, Wilkins has performed at a Pro Bowl level and the case could be made that Sieler hasn't been far behind. And Davis also has performed well in more limited snaps.
So maybe this is not a critical need for the Dolphins, but it also would make sense for the Dolphins to fortify that position when you consider they could be in store for a lengthy run in 2023.
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