​The Detroit Lions are less than three weeks away from opening Training Camp as they prepare for the 2026 NFL season, a campaign that looms critical after they narrowly missed the playoffs in 2025. The team is hoping that defensive tackle Alim McNeill, who suffered a devastating ACL injury in December 2024 and did not return until Week 7 last season, will stay healthy and again become a regular contributor to Detroit’s success.
Recently, ESPN released its ranking of the top 10 NFL defensive tackles, featuring familiar names such as Chris Jones, Dexter Lawrence II, Jalen Carter, Derrick Brown, Leonard Williams, Jeffery Simmons, and Quinnen Williams. Yet McNeill was notably absent from the list. Before his ACL injury in 2024, McNeill posted 25 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 45 quarterback pressures across 14 games after putting up 32 tackles, five sacks, and 43 pressures in 16 games in 2023. Last season, his appearances were limited to 10 games, but he still accumulated 23 pressures, one sack, and 14 tackles. Despite his strong 2024 showing prior to his injury, ESPN did not include him among the top 10 at his position.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell, however, remains optimistic about McNeill’s trajectory for 2026. “Alim is only gonna be so much better from that. Alim would never say anything about that, but any player that comes off of that injury, it’s hard,” Campbell said. “It’s hard to be back to what you were immediately after it once you’ve rehabbed. I’m not worried about Mac, Mac’s gonna come in and do well.”
Speaking with reporters at Detroit’s first OTA practice earlier in the spring, McNeill expressed confidence that he will return stronger in 2026, noting that it took time to feel like his old self again after the setback. “It’s just how the body works. It takes time for stuff to come back a little bit,” he explained. “Some stuff was just not there (last year) no matter how hard I tried to do certain stuff, it just wasn’t there yet. It’s here now.” He highlighted overall strength as a key improvement and emphasized the importance of the mind-body connection, adding, “Just my brain being able to know this leg is good and I can step and plant here.”
McNeill reaffirmed his commitment to generating interior pressure. “If you don’t have an inside rush, it doesn’t matter what you do,” he said. “It’s what I’m here to do and what I’m going to do.”
The Lions selected McNeill in the third round (72nd overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft out of NC State. Since then, he has accumulated 151 tackles and 12.0 sacks, highlighting his potential as a disruptive interior presence when fully healthy. As Detroit heads into training camp, the focus will be on how quickly McNeill returns to peak form and how his presence inside can elevate the overall defensive performance as the team pursues a stronger push toward the postseason in 2026.