With NFL free agency right around the corner and set to begin on March 13, a national outlet highlighted the best players on the defensive side of the ball who are slated to hit the open market this offseason.

CBS Sports stacked up the top 25 defensive free agents and ranked a couple of former Clemson stars among them, including Christian Wilkins, who checked in at No. 6 overall in the ranking.

Over 17 games in his fifth season with the Miami Dolphins in 2023, Wilkins posted more than 60 total tackles (10 for loss), 23 quarterback hits, two passes defended, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries to go with nine sacks – double his previous career-high of 4.5 sacks in 2021.

The 6-foot-4, 310-pound defensive lineman has amassed 355 tackles (43 for loss) and 20.5 sacks since being drafted by the Dolphins in the first round (13th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft.

“Through thick and thin, the Miami Dolphins have been able to count on Wilkins up front,” CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin wrote. “The former first-rounder has played in 81 of 83 possible games since entering the NFL, logging at least 10 tackles for loss in each of his last three seasons. He does everything well as the anchor of the defensive front.”

Another former Clemson defensive lineman, D.J. Reader, made CBS Sports’ ranking of the top 25 defensive free agents, with Reader cracking the list at No. 25.

Reader’s 2023 campaign was cut short on Dec. 16, when the 6-foot-3, 335-pound defensive tackle went down with a season-ending torn quad tendon in the Cincinnati Bengals’ eventual overtime victory over the Minnesota Vikings. He suffered the same injury during the 2020 season.

In 14 games with the Bengals during the 2023 season, Reader recorded 34 tackles (two for loss), a sack, seven quarterback hits, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. Since entering the league in 2016 after being drafted in the fifth round (166th overall) that year by the Houston Texans, Reader has racked up 277 tackles, 23 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks over his career with the Texans and Bengals.

“He turns 30 this summer, and he’s missed extensive time due to injury in two of his last four seasons,” Benjamin wrote. “But Reader is a mammoth-sized gap-plugger who’s been rock-steady when healthy for both the Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Texans. His impact goes well beyond the numbers, particularly as a run defender.”

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