Football Outsiders has 3 Lions defenders among under-the-radar young players to watch in 2022

ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions have been getting some love for their offseason upgrades on offense. But the folks over at Football Outsiders like some of the young-under-the-radar defensive pieces that could help take this rebuild into the next stages.

Football Outsiders ranked the top 25 under-the-radar young players that could break out in 2022. They have three Lions players featured. Interior defender Alim McNeill ranks eighth, with versatile defender Julian Okwara 11th and defensive back Ifeatu Melifonwu 12th. This is the second consecutive year that Okwara has made this list. He was 16th heading, with receiver Quintez Cephus holding the No. 11 spot heading into 2021.

McNeill also got some recent love from Pro Football Focus. The analytics site had him among 15 second-year breakout candidates to watch, and not just among those “under the radar.” Detroit’s defense shifts to a four-person front this year, with a more attacking mentality, and McNeill is a major reason behind that. Head coach Dan Campbell has called the second-year interior defender arguably the strongest pound-for-pound player on the team. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has had a hard time not just saying “look at Alim” when discussing the rationale behind the defensive tweaks.

“We’re able to get off the ball more. That’s all it is,” McNeill said after the first padded practice on Monday. “Instead of last year, we had to read a little bit on the line a lot more, but this year we’re on edges, like I spoke about previously. We’re on edges and we’re able to get off the ball. Having that edge for me as a one, on the center, cause we’re such close quarters, it’s a huge advantage for me. But going against a guy like Frank (Ragnow) is also very hard. So, it’s good work, iron sharpens iron, but we’re able to get off the ball now and get on the edge.”

McNeill had two sacks while leading Detroit’s defensive tackles with a 68% run-stop win rate. He had 14 tackles, two for loss and both of his sacks in the final five weeks. His athleticism coming off the ball popped down the stretch. He tips the scales at 6-foot-2, 330 pounds. His combination of speed, size and power has internal and external expectations rising ahead of Year 2. Football Outsiders asks of McNeill, “is he a very good nose tackle for run downs or is he going to be able to play on passing downs?”

“It’s been good, and I think some of the things that we are doing defensively a little bit more of this attack, we’re going serve him well because he’s got a quick first step,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said. “He’s got good feet and he is powerful. And so when you’re built the way he is and has kind of has the tools that he has, he could be somewhat problematic for an offensive line.”

Okwara has played only 19 games in two seasons. But the 2020 third-round pick managed to notch five sacks, including six tackles for loss and 12 hurries last year. Football Outsiders was impressed with his ability to make noise across just 362 snaps. The younger Okwara registered nine quarterback pressures through his final four games. He ranked 23rd overall in PFF’s pass-rushing category among those with enough reps to qualify.

Campbell said Okwara excelled in the rush-oriented and third-down-focused stuff last season. Now, the head coach is looking for the twitchy, versatile defender to get better at taking on blocks, attacking the outside and rushing when he’s allowed to pin his ears back.

“Detroit has promised more of a hybrid role for Okwara this offseason after drafting Aidan Hutchinson and Josh Paschal early,” Football Outsiders writes. “They want him to play Sam linebacker on run downs and rush the passer as part of a third-down package. We’re not sure if he can hold up to all the modern linebacker responsibilities, but we’re already believers that he can get after the quarterback at a high level.”

Melifonwu is an interesting inclusion. It looks like he’s moving to safety -- with ex-safety Will Harris to outside cornerback -- to get things started after an injury-hindered rookie campaign. The 2021 third-round pick missed most of last season with a thigh injury but flashed some of his unique matchup ability in the seven games he played. After the 6-foot-3 defensive back dealt with Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts, Glenn called Melifonwu a matchup piece they expect to be one of their main guys moving forward.

Campbell said at the start of camp that they want to continue working with Melifonwu at safety, “knowing he can swing back to corner.” The second-year head coach added that Melifonwu “is a little bit more play in both spots” compared to Harris’ situation.

“Frankly, it’s hard to believe that A.J. Parker and Jerry Jacobs are better options outside than Melifonwu would be physically, but with Jeff Okudah possibly back and Kerby Joseph also added to the secondary, Melifonwu may just be trying to find a spot to start,” Football Outsiders writes.

Okudah has been a full-go to open camp. Jacobs continues to work his way back from an ACL injury. Parker, free-agent addition Mike Hughes and seventh-round rookie Chase Lucas, among others, are battling for reps on the inside at cornerback. It’ll be interesting to see how the rotation settles, especially with Harris and Melifonwu potentially bouncing around.

“I do take pride in that the coaches can see me and use me as a matchup and put me where they need me to be for each week,” Melifonwu said before the team broke for summer. “I do take pride in that.”