If you'd have told any Detroit Lions fan prior to the 2026 NFL draft that the teams' sixth-round pick would be one of their most impactful defenders this season, they probably wouldn't have believed you.
Luckily for us, it's very true. Skyler Gill-Howard, a defensive tackle taken out of Texas Tech in this year's draft, has become a huge piece of the pass rush puzzle this season for the Lions. After losing both DJ Reader and Roy Lopez in free agency this offseason, it was important for Detroit to identify tackle talent that could compete next to Alim McNeill and Tyleik Williams in a similar role.
Gill-Howard has excelled at just that. And, the numbers prove it. On the year, he has seven total pressures, good for third-best amongst rookies. Per ESPN's pass rush win rate metric, he's also in the top-20 of pass rush win rate amongst defensive tackles in the league, with a 17% success rate through 47 snaps.
Lions knocked it out of the park with Gill-Howard pick
Sorry to bring this up for the umpteenth time, but the Lions' secondary is scrambling for answers after losing out on Joey Porter Jr. on the trade market. So, it's nice to see that at least one phase of their defense is functioning well, especially since their pass rush was such an issue in 2025. Detroit very intentionally reconstructed their pass rush unit with size and strength, and it's paying off so far.
The team is, overall, ranked 11th in the league in pass rush win rate through three weeks. Gill-Howard has been a large part of why they're succeeding so far this year. If only he could play cornerback, right?
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Ranked ahead of Gill-Howard in pass rush win rate amongst defensive tackles is McNeill, who is 13th overall right now with a success rate of 18% through 78 plays. His availability has been his biggest strength so far, and it feels like he's still yet to hit his peak at the start of this season.
Week 4 against the Carolina Panthers may prove to be McNeill's and Gill-Howard's most potent game yet as a tandem. The Panthers are 25th in pass block win rate so far this season, and they've allowed Bryce Young to get sacked seven times this year already. They're also likely to be down their starting left guard, Damien Lewis, and are getting rookie tackle Monroe Freeling back on a shortened practice week for him.
Having these two, in addition to former Panther DJ Wonnum and Aidan Hutchinson, be game-changers in this game can lift the secondary up a bit. So far, it seems like that'll be the case with how well the unit is operating.
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