ALLEN PARK — The Detroit Lions have reportedly agreed to terms with third-round rookie Alim McNeill, making the defensive tackle the first known draft pick to ink to their deal.
McNeill’s four-year contract comes with a signing bonus of about $1.09 million. The Detroit Free Press reports McNeill maxed out his third-round rookie deal, getting that nice signing bonus and a debut base salary of $660,000.
Before grabbing McNeill with the eighth pick in Round 3, the Lions had just selected another defensive tackle in Washington’s Levi Onwuzurike. New Lions general manager Brad Holmes made it clear that both defensive tackles were high on his board, hinting he thought about trading back into Day 1 for Onwuzurike, adding that McNeill was too high on the team’s board to pass at Pick 72.
Related: NFL draft analyst says Lions get ‘throwback’ in NC State DT Alim McNeill
“You know, I think it’s pretty much how the board fell, I would say. Again, we try not to anchor ourselves into positions, per say,” Holmes said. “We try to make sure that we get the best football player. I would say, starting with Levi, he was just one that after we got Penei (Sewell) in the first round, toward the end of Thursday, we were just trying to see if there were ways to maybe go back up and get him. Even earlier today — the guys in the draft room did a heck of a job about keeping me tempered to practice a little bit more patience, because he’s one that was highly sought after. He just happened to play that same position.
“Same with Alim. We get players that we love. We get players that we’re excited about. We don’t say like, ‘OK, we have to get this defensive lineman, we’ve got to get this nose tackle because those are the positions that we need.’ No. We just get football players that we’re really excited about and that we’re hot on. That’s kind of what it really boils down to, and it just so happens to be the same position on defensive line.”
McNeill is a 6-foot, 317-pound nose tackle who had 17.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in 35 career games at NC State. He’s a superb athlete for his size that continued to make plays while seeing more double teams, sinking his sack totals in his final season in Raleigh. He had one sack and 4.5 tackles for loss in those 11 games, flashing those outfield skills while returning an interception 18 yards for a touchdown, though.
He and Onwuzurike should be in the mix to be key cogs on the interior defensive line rotation. The Lions also added Michael Brockers in the offseason, with Da’Shawn Hand and Nick Williams looking to bounce back after down, injury-altered seasons. They also have John Penisini, who started 12 games as a sixth-round rookie last year, proving to be a capable enough commodity without much help.
Related: Penei Sewell tests positive for COVID-19, expected to miss rookie minicamp
Related: Meet the 7 draftees from the Detroit Lions’ 2021 NFL draft class
The Lions also drafted Sewell (Pick 7), Onwuzurike (Pick 41), McNeill (Pick 72), Syracuse cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu (Pick 101), USC wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (Pick 112), Purdue linebacker Derrick Barnes (Pick 113) and Oregon State running back Jermar Jefferson (Pick 257). McNeill’s signing is the first to be reported ahead of the team’s rookie minicamp, which starts tomorrow and lasts through the weekend.
UDFA signings: Arkansas State WR Jonathan Adams Jr., Virginia S D’Angelo Amos, Marshall LB Tavante Beckett, Arkansas RB Rakeem Boyd, Arkansas CB Jerry Jacobs, Kentucky OL Drake Jackson, Notre Dame OL Tommy Kraemer, Nebraska RB Dedrick Mills, Kansas State CB A.J. Parker, Wake Forest WR Sage Surratt, Notre Dame TE Brock Wright
