With a 24-7 lead in the NFC Championship Game, it looked as if the Detroit Lions were on the verge of clinching their first Super Bowl berth in franchise history. But even quicker than the Lions built that 17-point lead, the 49ers overcame it, winning 34-31 and ending the Lions magical season just short of uncharted waters.
Now ahead of the 2024 season, the Detroit Lions are attempting to load up and ensure that they'll once again be right in the thick of the NFC Playoff race. Early on Thursday, the Lions rewarded head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes with well-deserved contract extensions. And now the Ford family is preparing to dish out a little more money for a “big addition” to their defensive line.
Veteran DT D.J. Reader has agreed to terms with the #Lions on a two-year deal, sources tell me, @RapSheet and @MikeGarafolo.
Another big addition (this time literally) for the Detroit defense. pic.twitter.com/HsM7Wy8oKi
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 14, 2024
The 6'3″, 335 lb. DJ Reader stands out as an outrageously large human, even in a sport filled with many other outrageously large human beings. Though his numbers haven't been prolific — he only has registered 9.5 sacks in eight seasons in the NFL — Reader stands out as one of the better interior defenders in the NFL. For his efforts in 2023, Reader was graded as the 11th best interior defensive lineman in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus, ahead of bigger-name stars like Vita Vea, Justin Madubuike, Arik Armstead, and Christian Wilkins, who recently signed a massive deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Signing a big-bodied lineman like DJ Reader reinforces the idea that the Lions are trying to win with size, strength, talent, and brute force up front on both sides of the ball. Since the Dan Campbell/Brad Holmes era began, the Lions have devoted a lot of money and draft capital to both the offensive and the defensive lines, and thus far, it looks as though the philosophy is paying off.
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