Throughout the offseason, SB Nation will host surveys for NFL fans, sponsored by the folks over at FanDuel Sportsbook. For Pride of Detroit, we are tasked with fielding questions from Detroit Lions fans, and this week’s question focuses on an important aspect of the Lions’ defense: pass rush.
In 2025, the Lions defense finished the regular season with an impressive 2.9 sacks per game (tied for fourth-best in the NFL) and 13.76 pressure per game (sixth-best in the NFL). All-Pro edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson locked down one side of their defensive line, and for the fourth season in a row, he led the team in sacks, including 14.5 in 2025, 7.5 in just five games in 2024, 11.5 in 2023, and 9.5 in his rookie season.
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Complementing Hutchinson last season was Al-Quadin Muhammad, who registered 11.0 sacks in a pass-rushing-only role, while Jack Campbell (5 sacks), Derrick Barnes (4 sacks), Alex Anzalone (2.5 sacks) and Brian Branch (2.5 sacks) contributed from off-ball positions. The rest of the team saw seven players total a combined 8.5 sacks.
In the 2026 offseason, the Lions saw Muhammad and Anzalone depart for the Buccaneers, and in turn, signed DJ Wonnum in free agency. Then they drafted two Michigan men, selecting Derrick Moore in the second round and Jimmy Rolder in the fourth. While Rolder will surely take some time to acclimate at linebacker, Moore is expected to immediately compete for snaps with Wonnum, as the Lions look to address a glaring issue in their pass rush.
While productive on the stat sheet in 2025, the Lions’ “time to pressure (TTP)” was one of the worst in the NFL, ranking 30th overall and averaging 2.86 seconds before generating pressure. This was an area the Lions are hoping Wonnum and Moore can help them improve, as coach Dan Campbell noted during OTAs:
“Well, we certainly wanted to see if we can add a little bit of juice in there on the perimeter, but also in the middle. And now with that requires if you’re going to add a couple of these guys that maybe their strength is a little more in the rush game.”
While Wonnum and Moore qualify as the “juice” on the edge that Campbell mentioned, the improvement in the “middle” surely refers to defensive tackle Alim McNeill. After a mid-season return from an ACL tear, McNeill generated only one sack in 2025, considerably lower than his previous two seasons, when he recorded 3.5 sacks before tearing his ACL in 2024 and 5.0 sacks in 2023. Now that McNeill is further removed from an ACL tear, the Lions are hoping he can provide the pressure up the middle that was lacking last season.
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And that brings us to this week’s question. All signs point to Hutchinson once again leading the Lions in sacks in 2026, but who will be next on the Lions sack leader list?
Can Wonnum match his 8.0-sack totals from 2023 and 2021 with the Minnesota Vikings? Can Moore build on his 10-sack season at Michigan? Will McNeill return to form and produce with more talent around him? Or can Jack Campbell or Barnes build on their success last season with defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard calling the shots and featuring linebackers?
Make sure to vote in the survey below, share your feedback in the comment section, and check back with Pride of Detroit later in the week for the results.
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