Previously Highly Touted Lions D-Lineman Listed Among NFL’s ‘Most Overpaid’

The Detroit Lions have awarded several of their players big contracts over the past year and a half. Defensive tackle Alim McNeill was one of those players.

On Thursday, though, Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport suggested the Lions could regret signing McNeill to his expensive contract extension soon.

Davenport named the “most overpaid” player at every position group in the NFL. Along the defensive line, Davenport picked McNeill.

“McNeill is a quality run defender who flashes occasionally as a pass-rusher. But he’s never had more than five sacks in a season and has just 11.5 for his career. Players making upward of $25 million a season are expected to be game-wreckers. And just when he was showing some potential to be one, he tore up his knee,” wrote Davenport.

How one views McNeill’s tenure with the Lions probably greatly depends on one’s perspective and expectations.

The Lions drafted McNeill in the third round on the 2021 NFL Draft. He seemingly had a chance to develop into a star but was far from guaranteed to do so. McNeill started just six games as a rookie for a Lions team that won three games.

But like so many other Detroit players in recent years, McNeill developed into a quality starter. Right or wrong, though, through his development, the Lions, particularly head coach Dan Campbell, continued to raise the bar on McNeill, and thus expectations.

“We still feel like there is more in there,” Campbell said of McNeill during offseason workouts in 2024, via The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy. “He really took a big step last year, we feel like there’s more in there. I know that’s one of the things that (Lions Defensive Line Coach) Terrell (Williams) noticed right when he came here — our D-line coach, like ‘Man this guy,’ — he said, ‘I’ve always liked Alim McNeill, but I see, there’s more to this guy. We can get more out of him.’ That’s a good thing.

“Some of that is by fundamentals, and technique, and just continuing to push. But Mac is one of those guys — I think this can go up another step.”

While the injury sidelined him at the end of the season, McNeill played a majority of the season prior to that. Most pundits would probably argue, though, that McNeill didn’t take that step Campbell was referring to in June 2024.

Now, the Lions must hope McNeill can recovery from a serious injury and continue his development better than he did in 2024.

McNeill’s ACL Recovery Timeline

Recovery timelines for ACL injuries are seemingly getting shorter and shorter. But McNeill still faces a near difficult task of being ready for the start of the 2025 NFL regular season.

That appeared to be what Campbell implied when he addressed McNeill’s recovery timeline in front of reporters at the NFL’s annual spring meeting on April 1.

“It’s tough to say right now when Mac will be back,” Campbell said, via The Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett. “ACLs are all a little bit different. Obviously, it’s not going to be training camp or probably even early part of the season.

“But we will get him back and I think the big thing here is I think get him back healthy where he feels good, he can move, obviously protect himself but still be productive.”

McNeill sustained his torn ACL during Week 15 on December 15. If he’s ready to return in nine months, McNeill would return in the middle of September.

That appears to be the best case scenario for the Lions defensive lineman.