The Detroit Lions have needed some help along the interior of their defensive line next to Alim McNeil. The Lions tried it with Isaiah Buggs, Benito Jones, Brodric Martin, Tyson Alualu, Quinton Bohanna and Levi Onwuzurkie. Now they have solved that problem in a big way.
D.J. Reader is the mega signing that Lions fans were hoping the team would make this offseason. He’s by far one of the very best nose tackles in the NFL and now he plays for the Lions.
Teams are going to have a very hard time running the ball against the duo of Alim McNeil and D.J. Reader. Pro Football Focus had McNeill graded out as their eight best run stopping interior defensive lineman last year. Reader was graded as the 10th best. This is big.
Reader can rush the passer, but he’s not a pass rush specialist. He had one sack and 34 pressures last season. He has a total of 9.5 sacks over his career. He’s much more proficient as a run stopper.
That doesn’t mean he can’t be a big part of the Lions pass rush though. He is a space eater 6-foot-3 and 335 pounds. He can eat up double teams and allow others on the line to get home to the quarterback.
We’ll update this piece as soon as more of the financial figures come in.