Every year, ESPN polls NFL coaches, executives and scouts to compile top-10 lists at many major football positions.
They started unveiling their results on Tuesday July 8, 2025 with the defensive tackle position.
Unfortunately for Las Vegas Raiders fans, one of the biggest storylines that the list conveyed was the fall of one of the more accomplished players on their roster: defensive tackle Christian Wilkins.
In last season’s edition of this same list, Wilkins was ranked the No. 6 defensive tackle in the NFL. This season, he has fallen off the list completely.
Wilkins inked a 4-year, $110 million contract with the Raiders during the 2024 offseason, and the organization hoped he’d reward their investment by continuing to be one of the best tackles in the NFL. He hasn’t lived up to that so far.
Wilkins Has Had an Injury-Riddled Start to His Raiders Career
The underwhelming start to Christian Wilkins’s Raiders career hasn’t been entirely his fault.
Wilkins only played 5 games for the Raiders last season before being sidelined by a Jones fracture in his foot.
Since then, rumors have swirled about Wilkins’ health ahead of the 2025 season. He has been in and out of a walking boot. Some insiders have claimed he will be ready for training camp while others have insisted he needs surgery and may miss the entire 2025 season.
It seems as though the 2024 season weighed heavily into the ESPN rankings. If insiders were sure that the was fully healthy, it’s safe to assume that Wilkins would have been a stronger candidate to make the list.
But also, this could shed light on the fact that insiders aren’t sure of Wilkins’ health – or that he will be the same player when he recovers.
One Insider Believes in Wilkins
The good news for Raiders fans is that ESPN did name Christian Wilkins among their honorable mentions at defensive tackle in the article.
They also quoted one unnamed NFL coordinator who still believes in Wilkins.
“I know he’s hurt, but I love this guy. Absolutely a top interior player when healthy,” the coordinator reportedly said (h/t ESPN).
Wilkins actually was a very consistent, very healthy player in his three most recent seasons before coming to the Raiders. From 2021-2023, Wilkins made 51 straight starts for the Miami Dolphins.
That fact alone should instill confidence in Raiders fans that if Wilkins can make a full injury recovery, he will be an elite player again in 2025. He’s not historically been an injury-player, instead he has actually been a beacon of consistency.
In 2023, his most recent healthy season, Wilkins recorded 9 sacks for the Dolphins. That’s an absolutely elite number on the interior, even if Wilkins wasn’t rewarded with a Pro Bowl selection. He also recovered two fumbles that season.
But most insiders seem to have forgotten about 2023 in their assessment of Wilkins and instead are nervous about his recovery from injury.
But what do you think, Raiders fans? Should the Raider fanbase be concerned about the Wilkins injury — or instead, should they continue to be optimistic about Wilkins being a superstar in Las Vegas?
