Predicting who can be Aidan Hutchinson’s wingman in the sack department this season.
Aidan Hutchinson has led the Detroit Lions in sacks in all three seasons of his NFL career. With a fully healthy season, he should eclipse his single-season career high of 11.5 sacks from 2023.
The question of who will finish second on the team in sacks has been marinating in my mind for a while. I recently spent the duration of more than one Comerica Park beverage making the case to friends for Levi Onwuzurike. I felt quite confident—up until Onwuzurike was placed on Reserve/PUP and the unfortunate news of his season-ending ACL injury threw a wrench into those plans.
Caveat: This discussion only includes players currently on the Lions roster.
Za’Darius Smith would be the obvious lollipop answer, having registered 4.0 sacks in eight regular season games for the Lions last season, and as the only player aside from Hutchinson with a double-digit sack season (he has three in his career). But until he actually signs to the team, we’re not going to include him.
Historical context
Here are the Lions’ sack runner-ups under Dan Campbell:
- 2024: Za’Darius Smith – 4.0
- 2023: Alim McNeill – 5.0
- 2022: James Houston – 8.0
- 2021: Julian Okwara – 5.0
Ideally, someone emerges who can surpass 5.0 sacks as the runner-up to Hutchinson.
Who are the contenders?
Alim McNeill
One of the Lions’ best defensive players and an obvious choice to generate a career-high in sacks—if not for last year’s season-ending ACL injury putting him behind the eight ball. Based on updates from Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes, McNeill won’t return until October or November. Even then, he might be able to rattle off at least 4.0 sacks, as he gets re-acclimated down the stretch.
Mekhi Wingo & Josh Paschal
Similarly, both will likely be recovering from injuries to start the season, dampening their immediate impact potential but hope to provide some rotational interior pass rush juice once they get rolling.
DJ Reader and Tyleik Williams
Reader (career-high 3.0 sacks last season) and first-round rookie Williams both have potential to be gargantuan shop wreckers on the interior, but more so in the run department. There’s optimism they can collapse pockets meaningfully, even if they aren’t true penetrators.
Al-Quadin Muhammad
Recorded a career-high 6.0 sacks for the Colts in 2021 and rebounded nicely last season, tying Reader for fifth on the team with 3.0 sacks in just nine games. He’s a solid underdog pick.
Ahmed Hassanein
The sixth-round rookie combined for 22 sacks in his last two seasons at Boise State and is a dark horse worth mentioning given Dan Campbell’s early praise for his motor and intensity.
Derrick Barnes
The SAM linebacker position is pivotal in the Lions’ defense, and Barnes’ season-ending injury in Week 3 last year prevented its full utilization. Expecting a huge jump in sack production from Barnes—who has 4.0 career sacks in four seasons—may be a stretch, especially since he’ll rotate out in nickel at times and spend time in coverage. However, he has untapped pass rush potential, having notched 7.5 sacks as a junior edge rusher at Purdue, and should improve in this role with his untapped skillset.
Marcus Davenport
Pour me a frosted mug from that glistening pitcher of ice-filled cackling kool-aid. My answer is Marcus Davenport.
I’m swept up in the positive buzz surrounding Davenport in recent quotes from Hutchinson, Campbell, and Holmes. The 6-foot-6 demolition man who runs a sub-4.6 40-yard dash and broad jumps over 10 feet (90th percentile) should feast opposite Hutchinson, who led the NFL last season with an astounding 38.3% pass rush win rate.
Davenport doesn’t need to be the ace. He’ll benefit from Hutchinson’s constant backfield presence, the interior pocket pushers previously mentioned, and potentially improved blitz packages from Kelvin Sheppard, as hinted early in camp.
Davenport is not far removed from his 2021 season, when he ranked fifth among edge rushers with an 18.3% pass rush win rate, recording 9.0 sacks in only 11 games. That season, he played the role of Detective Billy Rosewood to Cameron Jordan’s Axel Foley, as Jordan racked up 12.5 sacks leading the Saints pass rush. Even in 2022, when Davenport’s sack numbers dipped despite playing a career-high 15 games, he still ranked 10th among edge rushers with a 17.2% pass rush win rate (min. 250 pass rush snaps). The track record is there—he has a proven ability to hand the offensive tackle opposite him a can of whoop ass.
The Lions should have too talented of a defense, especially with this upgraded secondary, to not have someone emerge as a viable No. 2 pass rusher. My vote is cast for Marcus Davenport to step up.