The NFL’s best defenses are the ones that can consistently get after opposing quarterbacks. I mean, of the teams that finished the 2024 season in the top-10 of sack rate, seven of them made the playoffs. Including the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
There’s no surprise there, at all. While outside pressure has always been valued, it’s interior pressure that’s becoming more of the craze in today’s NFL and it’s easy to see why.
Teams that can collapse the pocket up the middle not only can force quarterbacks into the waiting arms of edge rushers, but it also disrupts a QB’s ability to step up in the pocket, or even navigate the pocket, which is a major hinderance of its own.
That’s why Detroit Lions defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike’s free agency prospects are so intriguing entering the 2025 offseason. He’s a guy that can not only produce pressure from the inside, but he can line up all across the defensive line and create problems from those areas, as well. That kind of effective versatility is hard to find among big men in the defensive trenches.
Onwuzurike’s had an impressive 2024 season, but there’s a major caveat that will impact his market value in free agency
For starters, Onwuzurike’s 10.8% pressure rate during the regular season was better than some of the other top interior defensive linemen like Zach Allen, Jalen Carter, Nnamdi Madubuike, Vita Vea, Ed Oliver, Jeffery Simmons and Kobie Turner. It was even higher than fellow teammate Alim McNeil’s 10.3% rate. In all, he finished the regular season tied for the 15th-most pressures among interior defensive linemen (45).
Onwuzurike finished with just 1.5 sacks on the year, but it’s obvious he can push the pocket and take on extra blockers in order to free up the guys around him. He can line up just about anywhere across the defensive line, as well, playing 3-7 technique during his time in Detroit. Entering his age-27 season, he’s in his prime and could certainly continue to improve in the coming years.
The soon-to-be fifth-year player is also an adequate run defender, which only boosts his value for obvious reasons. He’s nearly a complete player, which should lead to a big payday, right?
Onwuzurike has flashed whenever he’s been healthy over his first four seasons in the league after getting drafted one round ahead of recently extended interior defender Alim McNeill in 2021. The former second-round pick out of Washington is the penetrating three-technique interior pass-rusher that every team covets, with his 12.5% pass-rush win rate in 2024 ranking as a top-15 mark at the position. – Pro Football Focus
Well, not so much and it’s easy to see why. And it’s what makes Onwuzurike the most valuable defensive tackle heading into free agency.
Onwuzurike’s injury history remains something teams need to be very diligent about when it comes to evaluating his prospects
Onwuzurike played through pain during his rookie year in 2021, but he injured his back in 2022 and it eventually required spinal fusion surgery that head coach Dan Campbell labeled as a “last resort“.
He proceeded to miss the entire 2022 season and a lot of people close to the situation, including our own Mike Payton, thought his career was basically done, at that point.
The exact surgery that Onwuzurike had was an L5 S1 fusion. Basically what this surgery does is they remove the entire L5 S1 disc and then stabilize the spinal bones together with hardware. It’s a surgery that can absolutely change your life. Trust me, I know…
… Once I had the surgery, then came the hard part. I thought I couldn’t walk before. Now it’s tiny little baby steps up and down the driveway. This isn’t a surgery where you’re back in the gym in a few months. This is learning to use your body in a new way. This is essentially a new life…
… I’m just a regular guy. Now imagine if I had to go through all of this and my job requires that I work out extensively every single day, I have to push around another human being while other human beings crash into me. It feels like it would take a miracle. – Mike Payton, A to Z Detroit
He played in 10 games the following year, but only logged 132 defensive snaps. Or, about 13.2 snaps per game. It was clear he was still recovering, and was limited by, the surgery.
2024 was a big step in the right direction for Onwuzurike, but he’s gotta show that he can do it again in 2025 and that’s going to affect his market value.
Onwuzurike is a prime candidate for a one-year prove-it deal at an affordable cost and that’s what makes him so valuable
Spotrac currently has his market value at $4.5 million, which is just way too low. There’s no way he makes that little as a vested veteran coming off a very strong year. Pro Football Focus has him at $8.25 million per year on two years, which is more reasonable. NFL cap analysts Josh Queipo and Kyle DeDiminicantanio have him making some big bucks at $14 million per year, which is too risky considering his injury history.
A one-year prove-it deal centering around $8-$9.5 million per year, plus incentives, is a perfect deal for Onwuzurike outside of Detroit. The incentives can be as simple as playing time and sacks, but teams need to be cautious and not put too much onus on Onwuzurike’s overall production. While he displays strong traits that teams covet, I wouldn’t make him the sole focus, or engine, of my defensive line. That also bites into his overall market value. He’s a chess piece more than he is a blunt instrument, so to speak. But in the right defense and with the right coordinator, he could really do some damage.
The $8-$9.5 million range also basically guarantees he’d make as much in 2025 as he has his entire career, which is $8,148,892. If he has another strong year, he can not only rack up more cash via incentives, but he can really get paid in 2026.
For the price and the potential production at a key position, it’s easy to see why Onwuzurike is the best value at DT and honestly, there doesn’t appear to be a close second.