The Lions don't need to fall victim to a major misconception on what their NFL Draft plans should be on the defensive line
There is not a fan base in the NFL right now that is more worried about their defensive line than Detroit Lions fans. I get it, you watch the Eagles decimate the Chiefs in the Super Bowl with 30 pressures and seven sacks and you say "our line has to look like that at all […]
There is not a fan base in the NFL right now that is more worried about their defensive line than Detroit Lions fans. I get it, you watch the Eagles decimate the Chiefs in the Super Bowl with 30 pressures and seven sacks and you say "our line has to look like that at all times."
The thing is that what you saw in that game is a lot like when you see your friends only post pictures of their best times on Instagram. You saw a highlight. At the end of the day, the Eagles line wasn't much better than the Lions in 2024, and the Lions missed their top guys for half the year.
Eagles: 289 pressures and 41 sacks. 10th in fewest rushing yards allowed.
Lions: 278 pressures, 37 sacks. Fifth in fewest rushing yards allowed.
We're not really here to do a full comparison to the Eagles or anything like that today. The Lions did not need to go out and purchase the most expensive edge rushers to be good. They should draft one, maybe two. But there is one spot in particular that the Lions don't need to fall victim to misconceptions and that's the interior defensive line.
I see what you're what you're thinking. Alim McNeill tore his ACL in Week 15 in December, and he's not likely to be ready to go for the first month of the 2025 season. That is a concern, but the Lions do not need to go out and draft a guy in the first round or really at all to take care of that problem.
This is actually a pretty deep group for the Lions. They'll be anchored by DJ Reader who is still one of the top nose tackles in the NFL. To fill in next to him the Lions have Levi Onwuzurike who is coming off a season with 45 pressures, which is second on the team in 2024, three sacks, and 13 quarterback hits. The Lions are getting a pretty similar pass rush that McNeill can bring.
Then there's Roy Lopez. He was a starter for the Cardinals for the last four years and he was a pretty solid pass-rushing nose tackle when he got sent. He had 18 pressures and a sack. That may not seem big, but you have to remember that nose tackles are more there to eat space and allow the rest of the guys on the line to do their thing. For as good as Reader is, he only had 20 pressures and three sacks.
Then there's the forgotten guys who showed some good flashes in 2024. Mekhi Wingo was really coming into his own before his injury. He's got some versatility that the Lions are going to want to continue to explore.
Myles Adams had some really good moments as a run stuffer when he got on the field. There's a reason they brought him back. Then you have Brodric Martin. We don't really know what's happening there, but at this point, we're talking about the sixth guy on the depth chart who could wind up being a bonus and be higher if he figures it out in 2025.
The Lions have other areas to invest in that are going to be higher on the list than this group that is pretty good.
7-round Detroit Lions mock draft after the first week of NFL free agency, the plans have shifted for sure
Some majors changes after FA.
