Now into his ninth season, Lions defensive tackle DJ Reader has played on some good teams. He played in a Super Bowl with the Cincinnati Bengals to conclude the 2021 season, and the Houston Texans made the playoffs multiple times over his four seasons there to start his career.
Of course Reader is a relatively new guy in Detroit, as the Lions' most notable free agent signing of the 2024 offseason. Getting back acclimated as he finished recovery from a torn quad playing for the Bengals late last season delayed his Lions' debut until Week 2, but he has played 25 effective snaps in each of the last two games.
Most everyone would say the Lions have one of the best rosters top to bottom in the NFL, not to mention (still) one of the youngest.
DJ Reader puts big praise on Lions' teammates
Reader talked to reporters on Tuesday. Prompted to compare the level of talent on this Lions' roster to other teams he's been on, he praised his new group of teammates very highly.
"Maybe early when I was in Houston, with this much depth. Maybe then, I think a lot of guys I played with then around that time. But I haven’t been on a team ever with this much overall talent," Reader said. "It’s very special. You’ve got guys at every position that, I think, are premier players in this league at every single level of football. It’s kind of cool to see. I’ll say a lot of higher draft picks, and not even that part, just guys that understand ball who are really young and hungry and eager to learn and be special.”
Reader actually went a little beyond the talent level the Lions have to talk about a group of players who "understand ball" and are "young and hungry and eager to learn and be special." If nothing else, beyond the talent Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell have assembled, Reader's words are freshly symbolic of the culture that has also been built-from the perspective of a new guy.