Allen Park — As Lions defensive tackle Alim McNeill looked around the league at the best players at his position, he couldn't help but wonder what was holding him back from being in that conversation.
In his first two years, McNeill has been solid, but not spectacular. A third-round pick out of North Carolina State in 2021, he started 17 games last season, but the resume lacks splash plays. He saw a nice jump in quarterback pressures with his increased playing time, but he had just one sack and six tackles for loss. That's a far cry from the elite defensive tackles such as Aaron Donald, Chris Jones or Dexter Lawrence — a bigger-framed lineman like McNeill who had a breakout campaign last season, racking up 70 pressures, 7½ sacks and two forced fumbles.