After losing Onwuzurike, Lions faced with finding new source of interior pass rush

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Allen Park — On Sunday, the first day of Detroit Lions training camp, we learned the team will be without defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike for the upcoming season.

The fifth-year defender, placed on the physically unable to perform list earlier in the week, required season-ending ACL surgery after nagging knee pain turned out to be structural damage in need of repair.

Outside the quarterback position, a single blow to the lineup is rarely enough to derail a season. The Lions proved this last season, overcoming a number of injuries to key players, including star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson, en route to winning a franchise-record 15 games. It wasn’t until the postseason that the cumulative losses contributed to an early exit.

Regardless, while the loss of Onwuzurike shouldn’t be viewed as a crushing blow to Detroit’s 2025 aspirations, it does create a schematic void that could prove challenging to backfill on short notice.

Without question, Onwuzurike was the team’s premier interior pass rusher, a department where he was going to need to shoulder a greater load with Alim McNeill months away from getting cleared from his own ACL tear.

It may feel like a distant memory, but interior pass rush used to be a significant issue for the Lions. It wasn’t until McNeill slimmed down and started playing more 3-tech alignments that the team turned a corner. And things really took off for the group last season, when McNeill and Onwuzurike each set career-highs with 45 quarterback pressures apiece.

Now, the team will start the season with both on the shelf, and it’s uncertain where that interior rush will come from, at least until McNeill is cleared to return.

Lions coach Dan Campbell did his best to downplay the concern.

“We’ll be all right,” Campbell said. “We’ll find it, and if we need to fabricate it, we’ll fabricate it.”

We probably shouldn’t anticipate the projected starting tandem of DJ Reader and rookie Tyleik Williams bridging the gap. Reader, who turned 31 this month, generated 20 QB pressures in his first season with the Lions. He should be better this season than last, two years removed from tearing his quad, but he’s topped 25 pressures just once in the past four seasons.

As for Williams, with a similar 330-pound frame, averaged only 21 pressures in his final two seasons at Ohio State.

Good luck running the ball against that space-eating duo. And no one is denying both have well-above-average athleticism for their size. Still, the fact remains, there isn’t a recent track record for steady pocket disruption with either.

The Lions did add to the position in free agency, signing Roy Lopez. But, again, we’re talking about a defensive tackle who is a better run-stuffer than pass rusher. The veteran has not generated more than 19 quarterback pressures in any of his first four seasons.

Is it Brodric Martin’s time to shine? The Lions would welcome a breakout performance from the former third-round pick. Still, it would be silly to think the 330-pound nose tackle is going to morph into a backfield penetrator overnight. Even against inferior competition during his final college season at Western Kentucky in 2022, Martin finished with 23 pressures in 14 games.

More realistically, someone unexpected will need to emerge.

Perhaps that option will be Pat O’Connor. Yes, it feels like a stretch for a guy who set a career-high with 10 pressures last season. However, there’s an undeniable athleticism and quickness off the ball. And, to be fair, those 10 pressures came in just 134 pass-rush snaps. That’s a respectable clip.

Even though O’Connor is entering his ninth season, there’s upside. Plus, working with Kacy Rodgers, his longtime defensive line coach in Tampa who joined the Lions this offseason, should further bolster O’Connor’s opportunity for an increased role and impact.

“He’s a jack of all trades,” Campbell said. “As he was running by me yesterday, he wanted to make sure I knew he could play blocking tight end. I’m telling you, kickoff, kickoff return, watch him. He’s a pretty smooth athlete for a big man. Played the nose, played the three, played the big end.

“He’s versatile, and that’s why he just keeps competing to stay on rosters because it’s hard to ignore a guy like him,” Campbell said. “He just does so many different jobs. You know if you get him into the game, you’re going to be able to use him.”

Other young veterans on the fringes of the mix are Chris Smith, Myles Adams and Raequan Williams.

Pondering the team’s hypothetical solutions, Campbell also tossed out an undrafted rookie who first caught the team’s eye as a tryout player at rookie minicamp back in May.

“Look, we kind of like (Keith) Cooper now,” Campbell said. “He’s a young guy. Let’s see what he can do.”

Cooper was surprised to hear Campbell had brought him up in a press conference. Regardless, the rookie was quick to let the acknowledgement roll off his back, noting he had plenty of work to do to prove to the Lions he’s worthy of a roster spot and can be a contributor.

One thing is clear: The 6-foot-3, 280-pound Cooper has done it before, if only at the college level. At Tulane in 2023, he racked up 38 pressures and 5.0 sacks. He followed that up with 29 pressures and 3.5 sacks after transferring to Houston for his senior season.

The Lions could conceivably turn to a picked-over pool of free agents, as well, particularly with the unit’s mounting injuries. Beyond McNeill and Onwuzurike, Mekhi Wingo remains sidelined by last year’s knee injury, inside-out lineman Josh Paschal is on the non-football injury list, and Lopez and Martin are both dealing with foot issues suffered in recent practices.

The siutation is unquestionably a quandary and has suddenly emerged as an underrated area to moniotor as camp progresses.