When Alim McNeill thinks about playing alongside veteran DJ Reader, there’s only one thing he can imagine.
“In my head it just looks like destruction, to me, honestly,” McNeill said. “There’s no other way I can see it. Every time I close my eyes and visualize it, I just see destruction, honestly.”
This offseason, the Detroit Lions made one of their biggest free agency splash moves under Brad Holmes, signing Reader—one of the more dominant nose tackles in the NFL—to a two-year, $22 million deal. Reader is coming off a torn quad and he may not be ready by the start of training camp, but McNeill can barely hold in his excitement to play next to the eight-year veteran.