Detroit Lions edge rusher Eric O’Neill is only a rookie free agent. However, that is not slowing down the hype of the former Rutgers product who transferred from James Madison. O’Neill made the Lions roster and is now being pegged as one of the future hits in the NFL.
Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic listed 15 non-first-round players early in their careers who are unknown right now. These players made the annual hit list. The special teams contributions of O’Neill stand out as a major reason why he looks like such a hit.
“While O’Neill will probably make most of his on-field contributions on special teams this season as an undrafted free agent out of Rutgers and James Madison, that’s clearly a route to head coach Dan Campbell’s heart,” wrote Rodrigue.
Head coach Dan Campbell made it clear that O’Neill consistently caught their eye this summer.
“The first one I think of is O’Neill. You talk about a guy that was kind of on the outside looking in from the time he got here in the spring that had to kind of defy all odds,” Campbell told reporters. “He had to find his way. He had to make plays every day; he had to catch our eye every day, and he did that every day. Whether it was special teams or defense, he did something every day.”
O’Neill was a surprise roster addition, but now he is going to push for a role on defense.
Detroit Lions Edge Eric O’Neill Named Future Hit
O’Neill has been climbing towards the NFL after graduating high school. He started his career at Long Island, where he played for three years. After catching on with James Madison for one season, he once again jumped to Rutgers.
Despite climbing two levels during his college career, he was still unknown in the draft community. However, GM Brad Holmes noted that Detroit always had eyes on him.
“Eric O’Neil, look, there’s always when you get into undrafted free agency, there’s always a handful of guys that you know that you want to make sure you really get, um, for various types of reasons, and Eric O’Neill was one of those guys,” admitted Holmes.
O’Neill impressed in training camp and rolled that into a strong preseason.
O’Neill Will Push for Playing Time as Rookie
O’Neill played 82 defensive snaps and had six pressures on 53 pass rush snaps. More than that, he had 19 strong special teams snaps. While he made the roster and can stay active due to special teams, O’Neill might struggle to see the defensive field.
Aidan Hutchinson will play close to all of the snaps. Then, the team has Tyler Lacy and Ahmed Hassanein as the big edges who can defend the run. They signed D.J. Wonnum in free agency and drafted Derrick Moore in the second round of the NFL Draft.
All four are expected to get looks over O’Neill early in the season. If he can stay active on special teams, there might be a time when his number gets called on defense.
Lions Rookie UDFA Already Labeled Future NFL Hit