The Detroit Lions appear to be retooling their interior defensive line, and a once-promising player may not be a part of those plans.
2024 sixth-round pick Mekhi Wingo was an intriguing addition to the team that year out of LSU, offering twitch, flexibility and quickness at defensive tackle that gave him real upside as an interior rusher.
He made the interior rotation as a rookie and got some solid burn for a sixth-round rookie, playing 176 snaps over 11 games before a meniscus injury on Thanksgiving cut his season short. He finished 2024 with 9 tackles and a quarterback hit.
But Wingo only appeared in two games in 2025, receiving 14 straight healthy scratches at one point. His lone appearances were, interestingly enough, both of the Lions’ wins over the Chicago Bears. He played a total of 59 snaps and recorded three tackles.
For a player who once seemed to be on the rise, Wingo’s lack of playing time in 2025 casts serious doubt on their long-term plans for him.
And there’s even more reason to feel that way now. Detroit selected two defensive tackles with their last two picks in the NFL draft, adding Skyler Gill-Howard from Texas Tech in the sixth round and Tyre West from Tennessee in the seventh.
Lions could be showing Mekhi Wingo the door after NFL Draft selections
Gill-Howard is in the Wingo mold as a bit of a lighter three-technique with more pass rush juice, while West has inside-outside versatility and could also be deployed in similar ways as Wingo.
The Lions’ defensive line depth has thinned out in terms of veterans. Veteran nose tackle D.J. Reader is gone, as is Roy Lopez, a quality backup who returned to the Arizona Cardinals in free agency.
One of the more understated developments of the Lions’ disappointing 2025 season was the steep dropoff in the quality of interior defensive line play from 2024.
In 2024, Detroit’s defensive tackle duo of Alim McNeill and Reader was among the league’s best and allowed the fifth-fewest rushing yards per game. But McNeill tore his ACL in December of that year and was not quite the same dynamic interior rusher he once was when he returned in October 2025. Reader, who turned 31 before the season, took a step back due to age.
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Detroit had the fourth-ranked run defense in the NFL last season through seven weeks (87.7 rushing yards per game allowed), before cratering and allowing 133.3 per game over the next 10 weeks. The Lions only forced 20 negative runs last year, second-worst in the NFL.
There was also hardly any pressure or sack production coming from the interior, with Detroit’s defensive tackles only recording five of the Lions’ 49 sacks.
So, the Lions have a definite need for more interior production in 2025. A second-year leap from now-starting nose tackle and 2025 first rounder Tyleik Williams would help, as would a fully healthy season from McNeill where he is hopefully much closer to his pre-ACL tear form.
But Wingo once appeared to be well on his way towards a bigger role, and it seems the Lions have since pivoted in a different direction. Still, he’s got upside as an interior pass rusher, and the Lions could really use some more juice there. If he can hold on to his roster spot, 2026 will likely be make-or-break for Wingo’s future in Detroit.
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