Pride of Detroit
Predicting who can be Aidan Hutchinson’s wingman in the sack department this season.
Aidan Hutchinson has led the Detroit Lions in sacks in all three seasons of his NFL career. With a fully healthy season, he should eclipse his single-season career high of 11.5 sacks from 2023.
The question of who will finish second on the team in sacks has been marinating in my mind for a while. I recently spent the duration of more than one Comerica Park beverage making the case to friends for Levi Onwuzurike. I felt quite confident—up until Onwuzurike was placed on Reserve/PUP and the unfortunate news of his season-ending ACL injury threw a wrench into those plans.
Caveat: This discussion only includes players currently on the Lions roster.
Za’Darius Smith would be the obvious lollipop answer, having registered 4.0 sacks in eight regular season games for the Lions last season, and as the only player aside from Hutchinson with a double-digit sack season (he has three in his career). But until he actually signs to the team, we’re not going to include him.
Historical context
Here are the Lions’ sack runner-ups under Dan Campbell:
Ideally, someone emerges who can surpass 5.0 sacks as the runner-up to Hutchinson.
Who are the contenders?
Alim McNeill
One of the Lions’ best defensive players and an obvious choice to generate a career-high in sacks—if not for last year’s season-ending ACL injury putting him behind the eight ball. Based on updates from Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes, McNeill won’t return until October or November. Even then, he might be able to rattle off at least 4.0 sacks, as he gets re-acclimated down the stretch.
Mekhi Wingo & Josh Paschal
Similarly, both will likely be recovering from injuries to start the season, dampening their immediate impact potential but hope to provide some rotational interior pass rush juice once they get rolling.
DJ Reader and Tyleik Williams
Reader (career-high 3.0 sacks last season) and first-round rookie Williams both have potential to be gargantuan shop wreckers on the interior, but more so in the run department. There’s optimism they can collapse pockets meaningfully, even if they aren’t true penetrators.
Al-Quadin Muhammad
Recorded a career-high 6.0 sacks for the Colts in 2021 and rebounded nicely last season, tying Reader for fifth on the team with 3.0 sacks in just nine games. He’s a solid underdog pick.
Ahmed Hassanein
The sixth-round rookie combined for 22 sacks in his last two seasons at Boise State and is a dark horse worth mentioning given Dan Campbell’s early praise for his motor and intensity.
Derrick Barnes
The SAM linebacker position is pivotal in the Lions’ defense, and Barnes’ season-ending injury in Week 3 last year prevented its full utilization. Expecting a huge jump in sack production from Barnes—who has 4.0 career sacks in four seasons—may be a stretch, especially since he’ll rotate out...
