Miami Dolphins Ceiling and Floor Player Analysis: Cameron Wake

Moving away from the offensive side of the ball, it' time to look to see how some of Miami's defensive players may perform in 2012. There is no better place to start than Miami's top defensive player, Cameron Wake.

Wake came into the NFL with playing experience at both DE and LB at Penn State University, but he was exclusively a DE with the BC Lions in the CFL. He came to the Dolphins as a 3-4 OLB, but he will be moving to DE once again in Kevin Coyle's new defense.

Floor: While Wake is going to play almost exclusively as a DE in this new scheme, it shouldn't be a huge adjustment for him. After all, Wake has played in 4-man fronts with Miami the past few years and still has had success. The biggest factor that could hinder Wake's performance is the quality of play opposite of him. If Miami can't find someone else to generate pressure on the QB, Wake will continue to see the bulk of the attention on the defensive line and will have a harder time getting to the QB. Stats: 40 tackles, 8 sacks, 0 FFs.

Ceiling: If the Dolphins can find another player to generate pressure other than Wake, he can truly wreak havoc on opposing QBs. Wake has 22.5 sacks in his last 32 games despite having little pass rushing support. The Dolphins brought in Jamaal Westerman in free agency and drafted Olivier Vernon in April in hopes of acquiring a solid pass rusher to help take attention away from Wake. They also have players on the roster from the past year, such as Jared Odrick, that they hope will continue to grow. Stats: 70 tackles, 16.5 sacks, 4 FFs.