Alim McNeill has his eyes on success for the Detroit Lions in 2023.
The defensive tackle has made massive changes to his regimen, both on and off the field. Heading into the upcoming season, he hopes these transformations will have a significant impact.
“I just feel like an athlete again, I just feel a lot better,” McNeill told Tim Twentyman of the team’s website. “Just being able to do different things now. Last year, sometimes I’d be limited just due to some flexibility regions. With me stretching now, I’m not a yoga instructor now. But, I’ve gotten a lot more flexible with how I’m able to move and different movements and stuff. I’ve seen it carry over, and coaches have told me about it as well. I just feel a lot better. I’m able to move and bend a lot differently now, get into different positions, play things differently. It’s just a lot better for me.”
The third-year defensive tackle has reduced his body fat by 13 percent, thanks to a new diet and workout structure. On the field, he’s looking to take on a new role within Detroit’s defense.
These changes have been noticed by Aaron Glenn, Detroit’s third-year defensive coordinator.
“You do. You’ve seen his body, also, the way he’s transformed himself, as far as his weight, as far as his habits, the way he studies,” Glenn said about McNeill. “So, to me, I like the fact that he was able to play nose and three. I think we’ll continue to do that. He’s serious about football, man. Like this guy is serious about how he is going to go out there. He’s serious about how he wants to be perceived by everybody also. So, I just look forward to seeing how he is going to operate throughout the season, alright. This is a damn good player for us, and we’re looking forward to seeing how he continues to improve.”
Rather than playing predominantly nose tackle, which he had done for the majority of his first two seasons, McNeill will now assume a role playing more as the defense’s 3-technique.
Traditionally, the 3-tech lines up off the outside shoulder of the offensive guard. The N.C. State product believes this will give him a better opportunity to make an impact as a pass-rusher.
McNeill made 41 tackles a season ago, with one sack. Should he continue moving around the defensive front, it will give him more angles to pursue passers, while remaining a consistent presence against runners.
Another factor in this change is the team’s decision to draft Brodric Martin in the third round of the 2023 draft. The Western Kentucky product is more of a prototypical nose tackle, which will allow the veteran to move around the defensive front.
Should they take the field together, Martin as the nose and McNeill at the 3-technique is a mutually beneficial lineup that will allow both players to play to their strengths.
“Brodric’s super strong, he’s instinctive, he uses his hands and his length. Brodric has really crazy length. Once he gets his hands on somebody, he’s able to extend,” the third-year tackle explained. “I don’t know if anybody in the league will be able to get a hand on him, because his arms are so long. He’s a hard worker, he’s learning a lot. … He’s coming along good, and he’s learned the playbook like the back of his hand.”
Detroit has a plethora of talent on its defensive line. With McNeill anchoring the interior and Aidan Hutchinson and James Houston working off the edge, there’s optimism that the defense will be much improved in 2023.
They know this, and have taken on the expectations in stride.
Glenn’s unit looks much different in the secondary than it did a year ago, leading many to believe it will be the best position group on the defense.
However, McNeill and company are hoping to set the tone with their play in the trenches.
“Personally, we have huge expectations in ourselves. We want to be able to control and dictate what’s going on, because it starts with us in the trenches. It starts first with the D-linemen, and works its way back,” McNeill said. “We just want to be able to control what’s going on in the game. We feel like we have the ability to do that. Obviously, it’s the NFL, there’s NFL players on the other side. We just want to be able to control what’s going on. I think we have the ability, talent and players to do that. We just want to assert dominance.”
This article was produced by the staff at Sports Illustrated/All Lions. For more, visit si.com/nfl/lions.
