Amid a bunch of injuries, the Detroit Lions have one of best defenses in the NFL right now. That's a great credit to defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn of course, and the work the players who have remained healthy are putting in.
Looking toward 2025, the Lions have their obvious building blocks on the defensive line (Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill). After that there are a number questions on some level, though it's a fair assumption Za'Darius Smith and DJ Reader will be back in the fold.
Alongside McNeill, Levi Onwuzurike has had a healthy breakthrough this season. He enters Week 14 as a top-40 graded defensive tackle by Pro Football Focus, with 1.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hits. He is also in the final year of his rookie contract, and the injury bug has hit him again as he's set to miss at least Week 14 with a hamstring injury.
So re-signing Onwuzurike has gotten more costly, in theory, and the durability concern has now surfaced again. It was already possible he'd be gone after the season, sheerly on the increased cost front, so a cheaper pivot could be in play via free agency.
Former first-round pick tabbed as fit for Lions in 2025 free agency
On the idea Onwuzurike wouldn't be re-signed, Matt Holder of Bleacher Report has offered former first-round pick Javon Kinlaw as a pivot for the Lions in free agency come March,
"Detroit wisely signed Alim McNeill to a contract extension, but Levi Onwuzurike and John Cominsky are impending free agents. So the team will still need to add some depth on the interior defensive line this offseason."
"Kinlaw isn't a game-changer by any means. However, he has been a solid player throughout his career. In other words, the 27-year-old could contribute off the bench and should be affordable in free agency."
Kinlaw was taken 14th overall in the 2020 draft by the San Francisco 49ers. After four mostly disappointing seasons there (10 total games played in 2021 and 2022), he signed with the New York Jets last offseason. He has 2.5 sacks and 21 quarterback pressures this season entering Week 14, playing in all 12 games, after totaling 3.5 sacks and 35 pressures over all 17 games for the 49ers last year.
As Holder noted, Kinlaw is not a game-changer. But he has posted the two best Pro Football Focus grades of his career in the last two seasons (71.9 last year, 66.4 so far this season). Last year, the 49ers seemed to put particular focus on highlighting what he can do getting after the quarterback (66.3 percent of his snaps were pass rush snaps, per PFF).
The ship has long-since sailed on Kinlaw justifying where he was drafted. But he's been healthy and productive as a pass rusher over the last two seasons, and with the Lions he can be a piece of a very good defensive line equation. If Onwuzurike leaves as an unrestricted free agent, the former first-round pick is on the list of possible pivots who should be on the Lions' radar.