Lions' roster 'heavy' on defensive tackles, but long-term need persists heading into 2025 NFL draft
When considering how an NFL team will approach the upcoming draft, you have to look beyond the immediate roster needs. A selection should be viewed as a four-year investment. Therefore, we must consider the bigger picture with each possible choice.
Heading into the 2025 NFL draft, we’re going to take a position-by-position look at Detroit’s roster, focusing on areas where the team might add talent in the event. We’re kicking off the series with defensive tackles.
Current roster: Alim McNeill, Levi Onwuzurike, DJ Reader, Roy Lopez, Brodric Martin, Mekhi Wingo, Pat O’Connor, Myles Adams, Chris Smith
Short-term need: 3/10
Long-term need: 9/10
Top prospects: Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Walter Nolen, Derrick Harmon
Day 2 options: Tyleik Williams, Darius Alexander, Alfred Collins, T.J. Sanders, Omarr Norman-Lott
Late-round considerations: Jared Harrison-Hunte, JJ Pegues, Rylie Mills
Analysis: At the league meetings earlier this week, general manager Brad Holmes noted the team was “getting kind of heavy” along the defensive line following the initial wave of free agency. He’s not wrong, particularly when you consider the interior.
To illustrate the point, let’s go back to the team’s initial 53-man roster a year ago. Entering the 2024 campaign, the team carried just four defensive tackles after cutdowns — McNeill, Onwuzurike, Reader and Wingo.
Of course, the situation was more fluid than it appeared. Martin was on injured reserve, and because Reader wasn’t quite ready to go after rehabbing a torn quad throughout the offseason program, the team soon signed Smith to the active roster and elevated veteran Kyle Peko from the practice squad, eventually signing him to the active roster, as well.
Most weeks, the Lions had five defensive tackles on the active roster, with O’Connor and Adams entering the mix later in the year.
Looking ahead, five is the starting point for the conversation. That’s not including McNeill, who is expected to miss the start of the season while working his way back from a torn ACL.
Assuming they’re healthy at the end of training camp, the locks are Reader, Onwuzurike and Lopez, the free-agent addition. That presumably leaves two jobs to be earned through competition between Martin, O’Connor, Wingo, and a possible draft pick.
Let’s briefly touch on those younger pieces the team has drafted in recent years, Martin and Wingo.
Martin is firmly on the roster bubble following the signing of Lopez. Holmes said at the league meetings that it’s time for the former third-round pick to become a more consistent performer after two years of development.
As for Wingo, he’ll be returning from a knee injury that cut his rookie season short. Given his six-foot, 290-pound frame, he’s unlikely to ever be more than a rotational player. He tallied nine tackles (one solo) and five QB pressures in 176 snaps in his debut campaign.
All things considered, if the Lions came out of the draft without adding an interior lineman, they’d be fine. However, perceptions shift when you consider the long-term outlook of the position. Those three locks we mentioned are all set to play on deals that expire at the end of the year. Plus, there’s an added benefit to having a young player in an NFL strength program for a year instead of trying to plug a potential hole with a rookie next season.
So, yeah, the position is absolutely in play, even with the cupboards presently stocked.
The Lions wouldn’t be limited to a specific type of defensive tackle. They could target a space-eating, run-stuffing nose to displace Martin as the heir to Reader’s spot. Alternatively, a 3-tech would have a more immediate path to playing time, splitting reps with Onwuzurike while McNeill is on the mend, and taking some of the load off the starter’s shoulders in 2026 and beyond, so he doesn’t have to be on the field 80-plus% of the defensive snaps.
Frankly, the Lions need to target a prospect in the earlier rounds if they’re going to alter the makeup of the current depth chart.
When it comes to nose tackles, Michigan’s Kenneth Grant would be the Day 1 option. He’s got the size, power and athleticism to stuff the run and occasionally disrupt the pocket, a la Reader.
On the second day, Collins, out of Texas, doesn’t offer much as a pass-rusher. Still, he’s as polished as they come at absorbing double teams and running backs who dare venture into his gaps.
In terms of pocket disruptors, Nolan and Harmon merit consideration if they’re still on the board when the Lions are on the clock in the first round. Nolan had 6.5 sacks and 35 pressures for Ole Miss last season. Harmon, the Detroit native, brings a bigger frame and impressive length to go with 5.0 sacks and 55 pressures for the Ducks in 2024.
Looking to Day 2, South Carolina’s T.J. Sanders (8.5 sacks the past two seasons) offers rare athleticism, while Tennessee’s Norman-Lott has tantalizing upside, highlighted by his 27 pressures in just 139 pass-rush reps for the Vols last season.
Sure would be great if Martin pulled off a massive third year leap in performance, like Barnes, Iffy, Levi, and Jamo did. However, statistically Brad Holmes is overdue to miss on a pick, and maybe it's Martin.
First off, Justin, I appreciate this format and anything that rescues you from "Kiper Kalls" is worth it imo.
Would love to see Harmon, even if they have to trade up to get him.
I'm not sold on this group without McNeil, or until he's able to return from injury, but ACLs are 12-18 month timelines, aren't they? Wouldn't that put his likely return late-season at the earliest?
Most of these are the same guys who couldn't contain Daniels in the playoff game (or Allen for that matter). Still, Holmes has consistently chosen well in the draft, so I'ma let it play out and cheer on, no matter what.