If you read every single one of our daily Detroit Lions training camp observations, you may only see a passing mention or two of defensive end DJ Wonnum. Despite being in line for a potential starting role on a revamped Lions defensive line, Wonnum’s spring was quiet.
But coach Dan Campbell said on Monday that it’s been a good kind of quiet for the six-year veteran.
“I mean this is a very good way: it’s been kind of a quiet, just steady training camp for him,” Campbell said. “I think he’s come in and
just done his job. I think he’s been very consistent with what we’ve asked him to do. There’s nothing flashy about it, but he’s a crafty, sneaky, smart veteran football player that understands how to play the run, understands—he’s got some slipperiness as a rusher.”
Wonnum first caught the team’s attention when he was playing as a rotational player for the Vikings. Again, there wasn’t anything particularly flashy about what he did in Minnesota, but he went about his business, produced 20 sacks between 2021-23, contributed on special teams, and grew to become a reliable run defender.
As soon as Wonnum joined Detroit this offseason, Campbell knew he fit the team’s culture of hard, steady workers.
“I just remember when he came in, he was one of those guys,” Campbell said. “He’s a lunch-pail guy that’s going to give everything that he’s got, and he plays a smart brand of football, and I love that about him.”
For years, the Lions have been looking for a bookend to Aidan Hutchinson. They needed someone who can not only hold the edge in the run game, but provide a legitimate pass-rushing threat to pull attention away from Hutchinson—or at least be able to win their one-on-ones if teams opt to spend additional resources on only Hutchinson.
“I think he’s going to complement Hutch very well on the other side,” Campbell said of Wonnum. “So, I think he’s exactly what I expected to get here to this point.”
But Wonnum won’t be alone. Detroit invested a second-round pick this year in Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore, who had flashes between injuries at training camp. They’ll also have a healthy Alim McNeill back to cause some disruption in the middle of the defense. And don’t count out the depth along the defensive line, including Tyleik Williams, Levi Onwuzurike, Ahmed Hassanein, and Skyler Gill-Howard, among others.
Last year, the Lions finished t-fourth in sacks with 49, but that didn’t tell the whole story. Per NFL Pro, Detroit’s time to pressure—the average amount of time to move the quarterback off his spot—was 2.86 seconds, which ranked 30th in the NFL. And that was despite having the ninth-highest blitz rate.
Detroit doesn’t want to stray too far from its “stop the run first” mentality, but with a player like Wonnum, they won’t have to. He brings a steady presence to the run game, and Detroit is banking on him thriving as a pass rusher opposite Hutchinson.
