Exit Interviews: After years of struggles, a viable interior pass rush emerged, but future is cloudy beyond Alim McNeill
To wrap up the Detroit Lions’ 2024 season, we’re doing a position-by-position evaluation of the roster. Today, we’re focusing on the play of the team’s defensive tackles.
The straightforward stats
Alim McNeill: 14 games, 25 tackles (seven for a loss), 3.5 sacks, 45 QB pressures
DJ Reader: 15 games, 23 tackles (four for a loss), 3.0 sacks, 20 QB pressures
Levi Onwuzurike: 16 games, 28 (one for a loss), 1.5 sacks, 45 QB pressures
Pat O’Connor: 12 games, 18 tackles (two for a loss), 2.0 sacks, 10 QB pressures
Mekhi Wingo: 11 games, nine tackles, five QB pressures
Advanced metrics
Among interior linemen, McNeill had one of the best pass-rush win rates in the NFL, beating his block 14.5% of the time. Only Denver's John Franklin-Myers, Kansas City's Chris Jones, Philadelphia's Moro Ojomo and Milton Jones, and Dallas' Osa Odighizuwa were better.
Onwuzurike, despite a limited number of negative plays, clearly had a knack for finding his way in the backfield. He tied for his position group's lead in quarterback pressures, with a win rate that ranked in the top 15 in the league.
Regarding run stops — tackles constituting an offensive failure — Detroit didn't have an interior lineman crack the top 50. Onwuzurike paced the team with 13, followed by McNeill with 12 and Reader with 10. That was the veteran nose tackle's least productive season in the category since 2016, his rookie year in Houston.