{"id":203864,"date":"2025-07-13T12:22:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T12:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/203864\/"},"modified":"2025-07-13T12:22:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T12:22:11","slug":"detroit-lions-2025-training-camp-preview-defensive-tackle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/203864\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Lions 2025 training camp preview: Defensive tackle"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this installment of our Detroit Lions<\/a> 2025 training camp<\/a> preview series, we switch sides of the ball and examine the Lions\u2019 interior defensive line group, speculating on current and future roles, and discussing how many players from this group could make the 53-man roster.<\/p>\n

Previous training camp previews:<\/p>\n

Setting the table<\/p>\n

The Lions entered 2024 with an improved group of interior defensive linemen, led by Alim McNeill (who received a contract extension mid-season<\/a>), DJ Reader (who was coming off a hip injury), and Levi Onwuzurike (a hybrid defender who split time inside and on the edge), with rookie Mekhi Wingo and veteran Kyle Peko rounding out the room. <\/p>\n

Unfortunately, injuries at defensive tackle dominated the headlines. Brodric Martin started the season on injured reserve, and although he returned, it was in a limited manner. Peko landed on injured reserve early in the season and was replaced by veteran Pat O\u2019Connor. But the biggest blow came in December when McNeill tore his ACL. With their depth exhausted, the Lions turned to practice squad players Chris Smith, Myles Adams (via Seattle), and Jonah Williams (via Rams) to finish off the season.<\/p>\n

Entering the offseason, the Lions knew that they would need to invest heavily at defensive tackle in order to overcome the absence of McNeill\u2014who is expected to miss time during the regular season<\/a>\u2014while also planning for the future.<\/p>\n

That led to arguably the Lions\u2019 biggest move of the offseason, when Detroit selected Tyleik Williams in the first round<\/a> of the NFL Draft. Williams joined McNeill, Reader, Wingo, and Martin, who were all still under contract. But the Lions weren\u2019t content to stay put, as they re-signed Onwuzurike<\/a>, O\u2019Connor<\/a>, Adams<\/a>, and Smith (futures)<\/a> to one-year contracts. Additionally, the team signed Roy Lopez<\/a> to a one-year deal in free agency and Raequan Williams after a tryout at rookie minicamp<\/a>. Peko remains an unrestricted free agent, while Jonah Williams signed with the Saints<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Roster construction<\/p>\n

Under the Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell regime, the Lions have deployed different styles of defensive front, but they\u2019ve remained consistent in maintaining the number of players they\u2019ve dedicated to the position. <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at what they\u2019ve done on the interior defensive line in the previous four seasons:<\/p>\n

2021: With a two-gapping look with three starting interior defenders, the Lions initially kept seven interior defenders (including three hybrid players) and ended with seven.<\/p>\n

2022: When the front shifted to a 4-3, the Lions reduced their number to five (with one hybrid) and also ended the season with five players.<\/p>\n

2023: The Lions would repeat their previous season’s strategy by opening with five interior defenders (with one hybrid), while also closing with five on the roster.<\/p>\n

2024: Rinse and repeat the previous two seasons: Open and close with five interior defenders (including two hybrids).<\/p>\n

Gap-and-a-half <\/p>\n

The Lions deploy a \u201cgap-and-a-half\u201d defensive front, which best features their players’ strengths while maintaining the overall philosophy of prioritizing stopping the run. In base sets, they deploy a standard 3-technique and a nose tackle to pair with their defensive ends. However, when the Lions put a SAM linebacker on the field, they pinch their nose tackle, and ask one of their defensive ends to kick to a 4i, which is why hybrid players like Onwuzurike and Wingo (along with defensive ends like Josh Paschal) become so valuable. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an example of the Lions’ \u201cBase\u201d defense:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s a look at how they adapt to adding a SAM:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Essentially, the Lions ask their nose tackles to play both the 0T and 1T, others to alternate between the 3T and 1T, and a third hybrid player to have the range to play between the 3T and 4i.<\/p>\n

The battleground<\/p>\n

Heading into training camp, the Lions have a few questions that need to be answered, but none looms larger than McNeill\u2019s injury.<\/p>\n

How long will McNeill be sidelined?<\/p>\n

While there has been no definitive return date yet, coach Dan Campbell has said he doesn\u2019t expect McNeill to be available during training camp<\/a>, and his rehabilitation will likely bleed into the season. How far into the season is unknown at this time, but the Lions do feel confident that McNeill will return at some point.<\/p>\n

How will starting snaps be divided up in McNeill\u2019s absence?<\/p>\n

In an ideal world, the rookie Williams would step in right away at the 3T and play opposite Reader, who will start at nose tackle. After playing 3T at Ohio State, yet being asked to primarily stuff the run, he is uniquely skilled to play the role vacated by McNeill. <\/p>\n

However, there are two potential hurdles to clear if Williams earns a starting role. First, asking a rookie to pick up all of McNeill\u2019s snaps\u2014which ranged between 75-85% of defensive snaps\u2014is not realistic. And second, there\u2019ll be an acclimation period that Williams will have to progress through, meaning they\u2019ll likely need a veteran to supplement some of the workload.<\/p>\n

Enter Onwuzurike. As the Lions’ best hybrid interior defender, Onwuzurike has the skill set to take snaps everywhere from the 1T to the Wide-9\u2014though he typically isn\u2019t asked to push inside further than the 3T. While the Lions prefer to keep Onwuzurike\u2019s role fluid, he can certainly help fill a void as a starter while Williams settles in, regardless of what that timeframe is.<\/p>\n

Beyond the presumed starters, what\u2019s the rest of the depth chart look like?<\/p>\n

After Reader, Williams, and Onwuzurike assume their roles, the Lions will still have plenty of reserve snaps available for whichever depth players earn roles. While the Lions have only kept five interior defensive linemen the past three seasons, McNeill\u2019s injury could result in them carrying six this season.<\/p>\n

Roy Lopez, NT: One of the Lions’ priority free agent signings, Lopez brings starting nose tackle experience to Detroit\u2019s front. While he\u2019s unlikely to unseat Reader for a starting role, Lopez could still see a significant amount of snaps. Depending on how often the Lions want to deploy a nose tackle, the combination of Reader and Lopez should ensure the defense is never without the option.<\/p>\n

Mekhi Wingo, 3T\/4i: Like Onwuzurike, Wingo brings a hybrid element to his game that the Lions covet in order to run their scheme seamlessly. If Onwuzurike spends the early parts of the season in the McNeill role while Williams acclimates, there\u2019s an opportunity for Wingo to increase his snaps by acquiring more hybrid reps. There\u2019s a lot to like about Wingo\u2019s game, and with Onwuzurike (and Paschal) in a contract year, this could be a big developmental season for his future.<\/p>\n

Pat O\u2019Connor, NT\/3T: O\u2019Connor entered the NFL as a \u201cbig\u201d defensive end, then shifted to a hybrid player role in Tampa Bay, where he spent five seasons learning under Kacy Rodgers, the Lions\u2019 new defensive line coach. Last season, O\u2019Connor found the field, mainly as a reserve nose tackle and 3T, but with his old coach now in Detroit, it\u2019s fair to wonder if his role will expand this season.<\/p>\n

Brodric Martin, NT: Entering his third season in Detroit, Martin may be at a tipping point in his career. While blessed with impressive size (6-foot-5, 330 pounds), he\u2019s only played in five games and seen 53 defensive snaps in his NFL career. And the reason for the limited opportunities is no secret: pad level. For the past two seasons, when any Lions coach was asked about Martin\u2019s progress, every single one of them mentioned \u201cpad level\u201d as the main issue holding him back. We\u2019ve seen several Lions players make third-year jumps in the past, and if he can figure out his pad level, he could be the next player to pull off this accomplishment.<\/p>\n

Chris Smith, 3T\/NT: A 2023 UDFA, Smith has spent the majority of his time in Detroit on the practice squad, but he found the field for five games (47 snaps) in 2024 and regularly gets praise from coaches\u2014mainly centered around his work ethic. While he lacks Martin\u2019s imposing frame, he\u2019s a terrific athlete and works his tail off. And in Detroit, that\u2019ll get you an opportunity to play.<\/p>\n

Myles Adams, 3T\/4i: Acquired by the Lions in Week 12 of last season, Adams’ intelligence got him opportunities on the field (91 snaps over five games) and earned him a second contract. Adams played mainly inside at the 3T in Detroit last season, but he\u2019s experienced at the 4i and can bring some hybrid depth to the line. <\/p>\n

Raequan Williams, 3T\/4i: The former Michigan State Spartan bounced around the league the last four seasons, and while he wasn\u2019t on a roster in 2024, he impressed Lions coaches enough during his tryout at rookie minicamp to earn a spot on the training camp roster. Williams seems like a longshot to make the 53-man roster, but we said the same thing about Peko at this time last season, and he earned a spot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In this installment of our Detroit Lions 2025 training camp preview series, we switch sides of the ball…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":203865,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2071],"tags":[4382,1188,146,113,449,733,7452,2506,7,29,147,6,152,9408,151,1189,5571],"class_list":{"0":"post-203864","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-lions","8":"tag-camp","9":"tag-defensive","10":"tag-detroit","11":"tag-detroit-lions","12":"tag-detroit-lions-analysis","13":"tag-detroit-lions-roster","14":"tag-detroit-lions-training-camp","15":"tag-detroitlions","16":"tag-football","17":"tag-front-page","18":"tag-lions","19":"tag-nfl","20":"tag-of","21":"tag-preview","22":"tag-pride","23":"tag-tackle","24":"tag-training"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114845905637057882","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}