After grading the team's offensive players and specialists yesterday, here's our end-of-season report card for the 2023 Detroit Lions defense.
Defensive tackle Alim McNeill
McNeill has a strong case for being the roster's most improved player. After making a commitment to transforming his body in the offseason, he made notable strides as a pass rusher, racking up 34 pressures and 5.0 sacks in 13 games. But the lost weight didn't hinder his run-stopping ability. He played a central role in a run defense that finished near the top of the league. Grade: A-
Defensive tackle Benito Jones
Appearing in all 17 games and racking up close to 600 defensive snaps, Jones' contributions often fly under the radar because space-eating nose tackles spend most of their time creating opportunities for teammates. But don't be confused — he had a big hand in the overall success of the run defense, while flashing a little more ability than you might expect as a pass rusher, tallying 19 total pressures. Grade: C+
Defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike
After a back injury sidelined him all of 2022, Onwuzurike managed to stay healthy this season while playing a limited, rotational role. It was encouraging to see some real pass-rush production (10 pressures in just 88 snaps), including a sack in the season finale. Whether he can handle expanded playing time with his back history remains to be seen. Grade: C
Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson
In his second season, Hutchinson found himself knocking on the door of becoming one of the league's elite edge rushers. He finished second in the NFL with 102 QB pressures and tied for 12th with 11.5 sacks. He went on to drop the QB behind the line three more times in the playoffs. The next step is translating more of those pressures into sacks, while avoiding some of the long lulls he had without getting home this season. Still, he made nearly all the strides you could want to see from year one to two. Grade: A
Defensive end John Cominsky
After sneaking up on people last season, Cominsky wasn't nearly as impactful in his second season with the Lions. That was most notable with his ability to affect the pocket. His QB pressure count dipped 34% in 2023. Still, he was a solid, versatile piece, especially against the run, where he almost never missed a tackle. Grade: C+
Defensive end Charles Harris
Harris was one of the roster's biggest disappointments. Healthy after an injury-riddled 2022 campaign, he entered training camp in a starting role. But his ineffectiveness led to a rapid decline in playing time. He didn't log more than 18 snaps after Week 5 and was a healthy scratch throughout the playoffs. The defensive captain finished the season with just 13 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Grade: F
Defensive end Romeo Okwara
It wasn't a banner year for team's sacks leader in 2020, but Okwara passed the eye test far more than his stat line would suggest. Two years removed from an Achilles tear, he generated pressure once every nine pass-rush snaps, was solid against the run and was a sure tackler. This might be the end of the line in Detroit, but he'll contribute in a rotation somewhere in 2024. Grade: B
Defensive end Josh PaschalThere were moments of promise, but Paschal didn't take a big enough step forward with his consistency during his second year. An early-season knee injury probably didn't help, but 13 pressures on 1.0 sack on 258 pass-rush snaps doesn't cut it. He's a quality run defender, but missed more than 10% of his tackle attempts, overall. Grade: C-
Linebacker Alex Anzalone
Anzalone once again set a new bar for his career, racking up 129 tackles (seven for a losses) and six passes defended, while showing newfound promise as a blitzer, with 25 pressures on 83 rushes, including 3.0 sacks. The downside was too many missed tackles, a regression from his 2022 improvement. Overall, he continues to be a durable, reliable, productive leader in the center of Detroit's defense. Grade: B+
Linebacker Derrick Barnes
Barnes took a notable step forward in reliability during his third year, earning more than double the playing time from the previous season. That resulted in 81 tackles (five for losses), five QB hits, a sack and a forced fumble. There's still plenty of room for growth, particularly in pass coverage, but you didn't feel like the Lions were suffering through growing pains every time he was on the field. Grade: C+
Linebacker Jack Campbell
Like many rookies thrust into immediate playing time, Campbell took his early-season lumps, including some entirely ineffective usage playing on the edge. He did seem to settle into a groove down the stretch, and his nose for the ball is undeniable. He finished with 95 tackles, despite seeing less than two-thirds Anzalone's workload. Campbell is more advanced coming forward than dropping back and was routinely a liability in coverage. It needs to be his biggest area of improvement in 2024. Grade: C-
Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin
I wouldn't normally grade a player with fewer than 100 defensive snaps, but Reeves-Maybin was a difference-maker on special teams, leading the league in tackles and executing two out of three fake-punt tries. That deservedly earned him Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. Grade: A-
Safety Kerby Joseph
One of the most difficult evaluations on the roster, Joseph is a playmaker who often finds himself out of position trying to make them. While his aggressiveness is netting four interceptions per season, he gave up at least as many big plays hunting for those takeaways. On the plus side, he took steps forward as a run defender and a blitzer, but at some point, he's got to be better about the risks he takes, because opponents have started keying in on it and attacking him. Grade: B-
Safety Ifeatu Melifonwu
This is a partial-season grade, since Melifonwu didn't get into the starting lineup until the final six games of the regular season, but he proved to be an electric playmaker who was particularly sharp when coming on the blitz. The Lions also trusted the former corner in a variety of coverage situations, which led to some tough losses in man-to-man, but also eight passes defended and a pair of picks. He leaves this season looking more like a potential foundational piece. He just needs to stay healthy. Grade: B+
Safety Tracy Walker
It looks like it will be a bitter end to a lengthy run with the Lions for Walker, who was a healthy scratch for each of the team's three postseason games. Benched in favor of Melifonwu, Walker was performing adequately, particularly when his assignments had him coming forward. One of the better tacklers in Detroit's secondary, his coverage skills were the slowest thing to return following last year's Achilles injury, and capitalizing on turnover opportunities never developed reliably. To his credit, he didn't complain about his demotion and continued to provided valuable contributions on special teams. Grade: C-
Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson
We didn't get to see enough of Gardner-Johnson, and it's unclear if the two sides will come together on a second contract after the expiration of his one-year deal with Detroit. The brash, trash-talking defensive back saw action in just three regular-season games, flashing his previously established playmaking ability with one interception and nearly a second. If this is it, he'll be fondly remembered for playing through a torn pec and still managing to record eight tackles against Seattle, then aggressively rehabbing post-surgery to return for the playoffs. Grade: B
Cornerback Cam Sutton
Things started off decently for Sutton, a top free-agent addition. He was outstanding in early-season wins over Green Bay and Tampa Bay, allowing a combined 23 yards when targeted in those matchups. But there were a lot of brutal outings, starting with the blowout loss to Baltimore in Week 7, a shaky performance against the Chargers in Week 9, and an a ugly run trying to defend top receivers down the stretch, when he was torched for 343 yards and two scores in the final three games. Those struggles continued into the playoffs, confirming he's better suited to be CB2. Grade: D
Cornerback Kindle Vildor
Vildor climbed off the practice squad, into a rotation, and eventually into the starting lineup through the course of the season. The lasting image of his year will be an interceptable pass bouncing off his facemask in the NFC Championship, but the overall body of work showed a physical corner who rarely missed an open-field tackle and could hold his own in coverage. Maybe he was in over his head as a starter, but as the team's No. 4 option, he was more than adequate. And you got the sense with a little more experience and time in the scheme, some of his near-misses would turn into PBUs and picks. Grade: C-
Defensive back Brian Branch
An absolute standout from the minute he put on a Lions jersey, Branch proved to be a versatile playmaker as a rookie out of Alabama. Whether it was blitzing, attacking a gap as a run defender or defending a slot receiver or tight end in man coverage, he proved capable of any assignment. There was a bit of a midseason lull following an ankle injury, combined with the team trying to overextend his usage, but being allowed to concentrate on playing nickel corner down the stretch put him back on track. There's a little work to be done cleaning up some penalties in coverage, but he has Pro Bowl potential as a slot defender. Grade: A-
Cornerback Jerry Jacobs
One of the better stories from Detroit's rebuild, Jacobs went from undrafted rookie to starter, even reclaiming that job after tearing his ACL. But the team's schematic transition to playing significantly more zone proved troublesome for the third-year defensive back. He probably would have lost his job sooner had Emmanuel Moseley been able to stay healthy, but Jacobs was eventually replaced by Vildor, due to inconsistent performance. Even with his three interceptions in 2023, quarterbacks posted a 107.8 passer rating when targeting Jacobs. And despite being limited to special teams in the final three games, he still led the team with nine penalties. Grade: D
Defensive back Will Harris
Harris was essentially the same guy he's been for the past three seasons. If you need a replacement at any spot in the secondary in a pinch, he's your guy. But you also have to understand opponents are going to attack him because his impressive knowledge of the scheme, paired with tremendous physical gifts, have never translated to steady on-field performance. In almost 200 defensive snaps, he gave up completions on nearly 80% of throws where he was targeted, although he did come up with an interception off a deflection. His value to the team was buoyed by his extensive contributions on special teams, where he saw nearly 300 snaps. Grade: D+
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