The Detroit Lions spent plenty of resources to beef up their defense this offseason. Much of the attention has been on the cornerbacks room, but general manager Brad Holmes also upgraded the defensive line.
Holmes inked Marcus Davenport and D.J. Reader in free agency, and they will join Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill, both of whom are coming off career-best years as they continue to ascend.
One analyst who is a huge fan of the group is Pro Football Focus' Sam Monson, who ranked Detroit's defensive line as the No. 4 group in the NFL. Here's what he had to say about it:
For a while, the Lions had Aidan Hutchinson and not much else along the defensive line. Now, they will deploy D.J. Reader and an improved Alim McNeill along with Marcus Davenport on his latest prove-it deal.
This is unquestionably the best group the Lions have had around Hutchinson, who himself racked up 101 quarterback pressures last season on his way to a 91.2 PFF pass-rushing grade.
The talent is there for the Lions to have an elite defensive line this coming season, but that doesn't mean the unit doesn't come without some question marks.
Both Reader and Davenport have a lengthy injury history. Reader is coming off his second torn quad since 2020 (he tore the left in 2020 and the right in 2023) and has not played a full season since 2018. Davenport appeared in just four games in 2023 and has never played a full slate in his career.
But, when healthy, Davenport can make a big impact in the pass-rush, and Reader is just a beast up the middle, both as a run defender and interior rusher. If the Lions can keep those two healthy and McNeill and Hutchinson are able to continue their upward trajectory, the group upfront is going to be scary good.
