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Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alim McNeill saw big success after a position change last season, and a major body transformation could have him on track for an even bigger season in 2023.
The Lions moved McNeill from nose tackle to a 3-tech defensive lineman, a position that calls for more agility to penetrate the defensive line rather than anchor the middle and attract double teams as he had before. McNeill took the assignment seriously, losing 13% of his body fat and adding a significant amount of muscle.
The change has turned heads, leading SI.com’s Jeff Risdon to peg McNeill as the team’s biggest breakout candidate for the coming season.
Alim McNeill Headed for ‘Big Jump’ This Year
Risdon noted that McNeill’s change to 3-tech was “like a duck finding water” as he shifted away from the position he played for most of the first two years of his NFL career. McNeill ended up starting all 17 games for the Lions last season, playing 69% of snaps on defense and ending the year with 41 tackles, six tackles for a loss, seven quarterback hits and two sacks.
McNeill has shown even more signs of improvement throughout this offseason, prompting Risdon to name him as the team’s top breakout candidate.
“The Lions coaching staff has shown a lot of faith in McNeill emerging as a consistently disruptive force in the middle of the defense,” Risdon wrote. “Based on how he finished last season and how quick he looks in OTAs, McNeill is poised for a big jump in his new role in his third season.”
Big Transformation for Lions Tackle
As the team’s website noted, McNeill made significant strides this offseason to prepare for his new position and the agility it required. He adopted a new, stricter diet that cut out red meat and all candy. McNeill also added a regimen of stretching at least three times a day, leading the 23-year-old to tell the team website that he’s feeling the best he’s felt in his career.
Though McNeill’s weight has remained the same — he played at 325 last season and plans to again next year — he converted body weight into fat and said he notices a big difference.
“I’ve added more muscle on and taken off a lot of fat,” he said. “Allows me to move a lot faster and stuff. That’s just me wanting to be great.”
McNeill praised the work that the Lions did this offseason to add talent to their defense, which had been a weak point of the team last season. The defensive tackle added that he hopes his body changes can lead to improvements in his game next season, aiming to be more consistent.
“For me it’s consistency. Being able to do it every snap in the game,” McNeill said. “I just want to be more consistent. I want to make those (big) plays almost every play. I’m seeing some guys around the league being able to do it and I’m just watching them like, ‘I can do the same thing.’ So, I just took more of a professional approach to the offseason.”
