Sieler Leads List of Underappreciated Dolphins

Defensive tackle Zach Sieler was overshadowed by former teammate Christian Wilkins in 2023 but equally productive

Zach Sieler celeberates his touchdown against the Tennessee Titans last December. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA

Defensive tackle Zach Sieler recently was named as the Miami Dolphins' most underappreciated player by Pro Football Focus, but which other player should get some recognition in that department?

Sieler joined the Dolphins late in the 2020 season and the next year signed a three-year extension through 2023. He signed another extension last August, this time worth $39 million with $20 million guaranteed.

Since he arrived in Miami, Sieler paired with Christian Wilkins on the defensive line. Wilkins is now with the Las Vegas Raiders after signing a four-year, $110 million free agency deal that includes $84.75M guaranteed, per multiple reports.

From an economic standpoint, Sieler is not only underappreciated but actually could be underpaid compared to his former teammate’s new Las Vegas contract. As a duo, they combined for 19 sacks last season alone; however, Sieler had one more, with 10. This is the Dolphins franchise record for sacks in one season by an interior defensive lineman.

From a statistical perspective, Sieler and Wilkins were near carbon copies in 2023. Sieler had one more sack, yet one less quarterback hit, than Wilkins last season, with more passes defended with four as opposed to two.

They each forced a fumble and recovered two, but Sieler had an interception that he returned for a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans. Sieler also had a playoff fumble recovery touchdown against the Buffalo Bills in the 2022 season’s wild-card round. Wilkins scored a pair of touchdowns in his Dolphins career, both receiving.

When looking at overall pressures, the difference was slight, with Wilkins having 30 in 2023 to Sieler’s 27. Sieler generated seven quarterback hurries to Wilkins’ six. Sieler also had one more tackle for loss than Wilkins, with 11.

From a snap count perspective, Sieler actually played 38 fewer defensively than Wilkins did. The special teams snap counts were a near match, at 191-190 favoring Sieler. The comparison of these players from a career viewpoint shows similar results, especially for the main statistic of sacks. In 81 career games, Wilkins has 20.5, and in 76 NFL contests Sieler has 20.

The remarkable thing about the breakdown of salary and stats between these two is that Sieler has a significant economic advantage for the Dolphins. Sieler has played 1,031 fewer career defensive snaps than Wilkins, making him a dollar-for-dollar and stat-for-stat more economically efficient player from the salary cap end of the business within the game.

Since 2019, when joining the Miami Dolphins, Sieler has had an 80.8 PFF overall grade, which ranks him 22nd among interior defenders.

Based on all those factors, it's hard to argue with PFF's stance on Sieler being the most underappreciated Dolphins player.

OTHER UNDERAPPRECIATED DOLPHINS PLAYERS

Outside of Sieler, you can find other underappreciated players for the Dolphins on the opposite side of the ball.

Tight end Durham Smythe may not have been featured often last season, yet he was the team’s third-leading pass catcher behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle with 35 receptions.

Smythe was Miami's third-leading receiving yards producer last season, with 366 behind Hill and Waddle. He was also third on the team in first down production, where Smythe moved the chains on 22 of his 35 catches.

Smythe also led the Dolphins in Success Rate at 72.1%, according to the formula from Pro Football Reference that classifies a successful play as gaining at least 40% of yards to go on first down, 60% of yards to go on second down, and 100% of yards to go on third or fourth down.

Staying on offense in the underappreciated category could be fullback Alec Ingold. Seldom a ball carrier, Ingold is a key factor in blocking. Yet when his number is called, he actually is fourth in success rate from last season on his 15 seasonal touches at 62.5%. He caught 13 passes for five first downs on his 16 targets.