The Detroit Lions are less than three weeks away from the start of Training Camp in preparation for the 2026 NFL season, which will be a critical campaign for them in the wake of finishing on the outside looking in at the postseason in 2025.
The Lions will be hoping that defensive tackle Alim McNeill, who suffered a devastating injury in December 2024 and wasn’t able to return until Week 7 of last season, will remain healthy and once again become a regular contributor to their success.
Recently, ESPN put out the list of their ranking of the top 10 NFL players at the defensive tackle position, and not surprisingly, familiar names like Chris Jones, Dexter Lawrence II, Jalen Carter, Derrick Brown, Leonard Williams, Jeffery Simmons, and Quinnen Williams were all among the players recognized in the rankings.
However, Detroit’s Alim McNeill was once again absent from the list.
Detroit Lions Defensive Tackle Alim McNeill Snubbed In Latest ESPN Ranking
Before his ACL injury in 2024, McNeill posted 25 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 45 quarterback pressures in 14 games after totaling 32 tackles, five sacks, and 43 pressures over 16 contests in 2023.
Last season, he was limited to 10 appearances, finishing with 23 pressures, one sack, and 14 tackles.
However, despite his strong outing in 2024 before his injury, ESPN left him off their ranking of the top 10 players in the NFL at his position.
However, that didn’t stop Lions head coach Dan Campbell from recently expressing his optimism that McNeill will bounce back in 2026.
“Alim is only gonna be so much better from that. Alim would never say anything about that, but any player that comes off of that injury, it’s hard,” Campbell said of McNeill. “It’s hard to be back to what you were immediately after it once you’ve rehabbed. I’m not worried about Mac, Mac’s gonna come in and do well.”
Alim McNeill Believes He Will Come Back Stronger In 2026
Speaking to reporters at Detroit’s first OTA practice earlier in the spring, McNeill said that he feels he’ll come back stronger in 2026, noting that it took time for him to start feeling like his old self again after his injury setback.
“It’s just how the body works. It takes time for stuff to come back a little bit,” he said. “Some stuff was just not there (last year) no matter how hard I tried to do certain stuff, it just wasn’t there yet. It’s here now.”
“Overall strength,” he said as one of the big differences. “Just being able to connect the mind and the body. Just my brain being able to know this leg is good and I can step and plant here.”
He also reiterated his commitment to to creating pressure from the interior.
“If you don’t have an inside rush, it doesn’t matter what you do,” McNeill said. “It’s what I’m here to do and what I’m going to do.”
The Lions took McNeill in the third round (72nd overall pick) of the 2021 NFL Draft out of NC State, and he’s amassed a total of 151 tackles with 12.5 sacks so far in his career.
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