Some of the numbers Detroit Lions veteran defensive lineman Alim McNeill has put up through the first seven games of this season put him in the elite category among interior defensive linemen.
The list of players with the most quarterback hurries includes a lot of the league's top edge rushers. Aidan Hutchinson (27), Boy Mafe (27), Byron Young (26) and Maxx Crosby (24) are at the top, but McNeill is right behind them with 21. McNeill is the only one of that group that plays inside.
McNeill's 31 total pressures rank 10th in the NFL among all defensive players. Only he and Denver's Zach Allen (34) are interior players in the Top 10. McNeill is fourth among all players in pressure percentage, and only Dexter Lawrence (5.0), Jefferey Simmons (5.0) and Quinnen Williams (5.0) have more sacks on the season than McNeill's 4.5 among interior defenders.
"First of all, he shuts down the run between he and Tyleik (Williams). He's excellent against the run game," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Friday of McNeill. "But, then to be able to get an edge and create pressure and push and make the quarterback move. That helps (Hutchinson) and that helps (DJ) Wonnum and our other guys, (Skyler Gill-Howard)."
McNeill is currently the eighth-highest graded interior defender in the league this season by Pro Football Focus and anyone who watched McNeill in OTAs and training camp earlier this year saw this kind of production coming. McNeill said this week he saw it after the work he put in this offseason after a tough finish to the 2025 season.
"I'm not trying to be cliché or whatever, but this is exactly what I expected out of myself," he said. "I'm not doing anything different or new, I'm playing my brand of football and my style of ball that I know I can play within the system.
"This is what I expected from myself. I didn't know quite the numbers and stuff, but the way I'm playing is how I always felt I've played throughout the years. This is exactly what I expected. Been able to get back to doing it this year and doing it the way I want to and it feels good."
McNeill admitted back in the spring he didn't fully trust his repaired torn ACL he suffered at the end of the 2024 season when he returned for the final 10 games last season. He finished those last 10 games of 2025 with just one sack and 14 tackles.
This year, he's back to the best version of himself and that's had a huge impact on the Lions' defense.
"You get an edge guy and you get somebody in the middle, then man, it really opens up your pressure package," Campbell said of the dynamic duo of Hutchinson and McNeill this season. "So, that alone in itself, four-man rush, you can create some havoc. But now when you do decide to bring some of these pressure packages, it helps significantly. So, (McNeill's) doing a hell of a job. He's playing at a high level right now."
McNeill still thinks there's even more meat on the bone when it comes to his game and the numbers he can put up the second half of the season.
"There's still another notch I can turn it up to," he said.
He and Hutchinson have been a disruptive duo upfront for Detroit and look to give Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis more of the same Sunday in Miami.
"He's been terrific," Hutchinson said this week of McNeill's play. "Really a stout presence in the middle. We need to keep it up. We have a 10-game season now for the rest of the regular season and we're going to put all our chips into it, and I wouldn't want to go into with anyone else."
JOSEPH UPDATE
Safety Kerby Joseph has been back on the practice field for a couple weeks now as the Lions have slowly worked him back starting with walkthrough and individual work, and ramping that up to scout team reps. Finally, this Thursday, he took part in his first team practice.
So how did Joseph look Thursday?
"He looked a lot better than what I anticipated," assistant head coach and safeties coach Jim O'Neil said Friday. "It was very encouraging. So now he has to stack multiple days. Today will be a big day for him."
O'Neill said Joseph has gotten extra work after practice with the help of wide receiver Dominic Lovett and tight end Jackson Meeks because reps in practice are limited as Chuck Clark and Brian Branch need them to get ready for Sunday.
O'Neil said Joseph looked 'awesome' in practice Thursday, though, after more than a year dealing with this knee injury.
"He's in a great place right now and I'm excited for him," O'Neil said. "I know how hard he's worked, and I know how it must be to be at the top of your game and then have it taken away from you and he's grinded to get back to the level that he's used to playing at and his standard. Hopefully, we can stack some days here and then we'll see what the future brings."
EXTRA POINTS
-Campbell said he didn't think Wonnum (concussion), cornerback D.J. Reed (hip) or center Cade Mays (ankle) would play Sunday after the trio missed practice all week. Expect rookie second-round pick Derrick Moore to play an increased role Sunday with Wonnum likely out.
"I saw growth in practice yesterday," Campbell said Friday of Moore. "So, the more he plays, the better he's going to get. And we love where he's going right now."
-When Campbell was asked about possible additions to the game roster at edge rusher he mentioned practice squad edge rusher Anthony Lucas getting reps this week.
-Branch is expected to play Sunday, per Campbell, after advancing through the NFL's return-to-play concussion protocol with no setbacks this week.
