One of the key young pieces of the Detroit Lions defense, Alim McNeill often gets overlooked when analysts break down the Lions. The athletically freakish defensive tackle is fixing to remedy that for the upcoming season.
McNeill is in Detroit for the team’s voluntary workout sessions this week. A third-round pick back in 2021, McNeill blossomed after being moved off the nose tackle spot and into more of an attacking 3-technique during last season.
During his media session on Tuesday, McNeill was asked about his offseason focus on what he can improve in his game in 2023.
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“For me it was consistency,” McNeill said pensively. “Being able to do it every snap, every game.”
The third-year DT elaborated a little more.
“I had a couple of games where I liked a couple of things I did, or the coaches might have liked it. But I just want to be more consistent. Like, I want to make those plays almost every play. I’m seeing some guys around the league who do that — just watching them, I’m like, ‘I can do the same thing’. That’s what it was for me. Consistency.”
How is McNeill aiming to achieve that goal?
“I just took a more professional approach.”
He talked about changes to his diet and his stretching workouts, among other things that McNeill hopes pay off with his best NFL season yet.
“I want to do it down in and down out.”
McNeill noted he feels “a lot more lean. I feel faster.”