Ahead of the Detroit Lions' training camp in July, it feels like there's some major expectations being placed on the shoulders of one unit that disappointed in 2025: their defense.
Injuries obviously played a major role in their demise last season, but they're entering this year with some more health on that side of the football, especially on their defensive line. So, with that should come some more help for Aidan Hutchinson...right?
It all depends on how much these three defenders live up to their expectations for this season.
3 Lions players fans want to see more out of in training camp and beyond
Levi Onwuzurike
Onwuzurike might be on the border of becoming a trade candidate headed into this season. After undergoing surgery to repair an injured ACL, which led him to miss the entirety of the 2025 season, he's expected to finally get back into a competition on the Lions' defensive line behind Hutchinson.
However, he wasn't posting eye-popping stats prior to his injury. He's only averaged about one sack per year since 2021, which has already been surpassed by other defensive linemen like former Lion Al-Quadin Muhammad, Alim McNeill, and even linebacker Derrick Barnes.
Onwuzurike has one more season to prove that he belongs on a contending defensive line, as his contract expires after 2026.
Alim McNeill
While McNeill has had better recent years than Onwuzurike, his injury recovery and limited appearances in 2025 left fans wondering if they'd ever see the same amount of impact from him as they did in 2023 and 2024. His eight sacks over that stretch were some of the best support to Hutchinson (and in 2024, Za'Darius Smith) that the Lions had seen...ever.
McNeill deserves the benefit of the doubt from fans regarding his impact headed into this season. He's told reporters that, "I'm me again now. (I've been) explosive and been able to do what I need to do. It's (a) night and day difference between last year and now." So, he's in the exact right mindset you want to see out of a potential Most Improved Player.
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Mekhi Wingo
Wingo has the opportunity to really redeem what is becoming a very poor 2024 draft class from Brad Holmes. The defensive tackle played just two games in 2025, suffering another knee injury in 2025 on Thanksgiving. Prior to then, Wingo still hadn't done much in his rookie campaign for Detroit. It's likely why the team opted to draft Tyleik Williams in 2025, who had some decent starters snaps for the Lions.
Wingo might be on even thinner ice than Onwuzurike. Without major improvement, Wingo feels like a cut candidate following training camp, especially if Williams can show he's still capable of starting, or at minimum, providing great backup snaps to McNeill.
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