Could DL Neville Gallimore Be a Fit in Detroit?

Vito Chirco opines on whether DL Neville Gallimore could be a fit in Detroit

Vito Chirco | Mar 30, 2020

Neville Gallimore is one of the best defensive linemen that will be taken on Day 2 of the NFL Draft this April.

The Oklahoma product could be a game changer along the interior of a Lions defensive line that direly could use an upgrade.

He's the definition of an athletic specimen at 6-foot-2 and 304 pounds.

He ran a 4.79 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, and possesses a high-end motor and extremely active hands that allow him to consistently provide disruption up front.

He finished his four years at Oklahoma with 148 total tackles, 18 tackles for loss, nine sacks and five forced fumbles -- including a career-high 7.5 tackles for loss and a career-best four sacks in 2019.

The Draft Network's Joe Marino's NFL player comparison for Gallimore is new Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Maliek Collins.

Additionally, according to Marino,

"While he needs to grow as a run defender, Gallimore has the pass rushing skill set to make an early impact as a rotational rusher on long and late downs. For teams that want to defend the run on the way to the quarterback, Gallimore fits the bill. He isn’t the most complete prospect but the areas he excels are quite valuable to a defenses efforts to be disruptive."

As I've talked about ad nauseam on this site recently, Detroit still needs to upgrade its pass rush this offseason.

Opposing quarterbacks were allowed to have all the time in the pocket that they desired a season ago, and it contributed to the Lions allowing a league-worst 284.4 yards per game.

That can't happen again if the organization plans on becoming a relevant team in 2020.

Easy solution: Detroit general manager Bob Quinn selects Gallimore with the No. 35 overall selection in the draft.

Gallimore would be an upgrade for the team not only in the immediate future but also in the long term.

And my prediction is that it would turn out to be one of the best picks of the Quinn era.

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Published Mar 30, 2020

VITO CHIRCO

Vito has covered the NFL and the Detroit Lions for the past five years. Has extensive reporting history of college athletics, the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Mercy Athletics. Chirco's work include NFL columns, analyzing potential Detroit Lions prospects coming out of college, NFL draft coverage and analysis of events occurring in the NFL. Extensive broadcasting experience including hosting a Detroit Tigers podcast and co-hosting a Detroit Lions NFL podcast since 2019.