Throughout the majority of this offseason position preview series, we’ve discussed how the Detroit Lions may approach free agency and the NFL Draft. But at defensive tackle, the Lions could very well be better in 2026 without doing much of anything this offseason. With some injuries in the rear-view mirror and the right development, the Lions’ interior defensive line could be one of their biggest strengths next year.

Previously:

While it wasn’t a banner year for the Lions’ interior defensive line, it was also an above-average season for most of their players.

While DJ Reader posted zero tackles for loss for the first time in his career, he was still doing his job relatively well as a space eater, allowing players like Alex Anzalone and Jack Campbell to run free in what was a strong run defense for most of the year. The eye test doesn’t really match Reader’s strong pass rush grade, and PFF only credited him with 20 pressures—his lowest since an injury-shortened 2020 season.

In his rookie season, Tyleik showed some strong run defense, but the pass rush flashes were few and far between (again, counter to what the PFF grades show). He had just 19 pressures all season. While you may have wanted more from a first-round pick, I would say there was nothing truly discouraging about his rookie season, especially given his role doing the unheralded dirty work in the trenches that often goes overlooked and underappreciated. One aspect of the game in which he made a difference was his ability to break up passes, something the Lions have lacked on the defensive line for years.

It was a disappointing season for Alim McNeill, but not totally unexpected. A big guy coming off a torn ACL, McNeill wasn’t expected to return until November, and he wasn’t expected to look like his old self until the end of the season. Unfortunately, we never really got to see “old Alim,” except, oddly, in his very first game back when he looked like the disruptive pass rusher that earned his big extension during the 2024 season. Still, despite the struggles, he produced the most pressures of the group, with 23 in just 10 games.

The breakout star of the defense was free agent addition Roy Lopez. Despite a limited role all season (20-30 snaps a game), Lopez was disruptive in both the run and pass games. He posted career-highs in run defense grade (68.9) and quarterback hits (five) despite playing the second-fewest snaps in his five-year career.

Pending free agents:

The outlook is actually pretty strong at defensive tackle in 2026.

It’s reasonable to believe that McNeill will be better in 2026, being another year removed from the ACL injury, and for Williams to take a Year 2 jump after a fine rookie season. On top of that, getting Levi Onwuzurike back into the fold after missing all of 2025 with an ACL injury could provide a big pass-rushing spark given his strong 2024 season. That said, Onwuzurike is admittedly a little hard to trust given his injury history, and it’s hard to know what he’s going to look like after missing a year of football.

It remains to be seen whether Wingo can make the field after two years of being hyped up in practice, but failing to be active on game days. You could certainly hold out hope for development, but expectations remain low.

Roy Lopez seems like one of the bigger priority re-signs. With Detroit’s commitment to stopping the run, Lopez showed he can be a reliable rotational nose tackle who provides some surprising short-area quickness to the pass rush. The big question will be price. Last year, he signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal that was nearly fully guaranteed. He’s likely earned a raise, but how high are the Lions willing to go with a backup nose tackle given their investments in Williams and McNeill?

I’m sure Detroit would love to have Reader back as well, but it may be time to move on. Reader is coming off one of his least effective seasons, and he last cost the Lions $22 million on a two-year deal. If he could be brought back at a significantly lower price, I’m sure the Lions would consider it—especially given his mentoring ability for Detroit’s young room. But with Williams, McNeill, and Onwuzurike in line to get bumps in playing time, there may not even be ample playing time for the veteran available here.