Detroit Lions DT Alim McNeill Lands On Most 'Overpaid' List

Alim McNeill enters 2026 in dire need of a bounce-back season.

The Lions defensive tackle's production notably regressed a season ago upon his return from a torn ACL which he suffered at the end of the 2024 season.

The former third-round pick was a shell of himself in 2025, logging 523 snaps across 10 games and recording just 14 total tackles and a single sack. For his efforts, he earned a dismal 52.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.

It was a stark fall-off from his production the previous two seasons, during which he was a pass-rushing force on the interior.

In fact, in both 2023 and 2024, he generated a minimum of 34 total pressures and four sacks, per PFF. Plus, he posted pass-rush grades north of 76.0 each season. Along with that, he amassed PFF overall marks of at least 79.6 each year, including a career-best 88.5 overall grade in 2023.

It helped the N.C. State product earn a four-year, $97 million extension from the Lions prior to the start of the ‘24 campaign.

He clearly failed to live up to the contract last season, earning the interior lineman a spot on the “All-Overpaid Team” for 2026 from CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell.

Per Podell, “He's been unable to stay on the field of late, a common theme for the Lions' defense these days, missing a combined 14 games since 2023. In 2025, his 52.5 defensive grade ranked 89th out of 127 interior defensive linemen grades by Pro Football Focus. McNeil's career-high 5.0 sacks came back in 2023, and he's accumulated just 4.5 across the last two seasons. Detroit needs much more out of McNeil with three years remaining on this albatross.”

It is of utmost importance for McNeill to be healthy and productive this season. If he is, the interior of Detroit's defensive line will be that much more productive.

“Physically, I just wasn't all the way there like I wanted to be,” McNeill said of his performance last season. “Now I’ve got two legs and I have no excuse. I feel wonderful out here now. I really feel like I'm back to playing like me, getting off the ball like me, getting off blocks like I usually do.”

Lions head man Dan Campbell anticipates the big-bodied defensive tackle being a “huge piece” for Kelvin Sheppard's defense in ‘26.

“Mac is very important. It is gonna be huge,” Campbell told reporters earlier in camp. “I know we’re only two days in, but he does look better. He looks like he’s back to what he was. He’s healthy. He would never say anything about it, he never did last year. But, when we went back and watched clip after clip back to back, he was favoring the leg a little bit. I don’t think he even realized it. It’s just good to have him back.”

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