Top candidates for Lions breakout players in 2022

Which Detroit Lions players are good bets to break out in the 2022 season?

Cue up “Breakout” by the Foo Fighters for appropriate background music…

Rookies are excluded here, though I will cop to believing that third-round safety Kerby Joseph is going to have a very big positive impact on the Lions secondary. Free agency newcomers are also left out because the obvious implication of signing a guy like DJ Chark is that he will have a breakout season (why else would you sign him for that money?). These are focused on returning players.

Here are the top candidates for the Lions players who take a big step forward in 2022.

Alim McNeill

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Nose tackle might not be the easiest position to attain “breakout” status, but McNeill is not your typical nose tackle. As a rookie, he flashed considerable quickness and excellent vision for the football while playing along the defensive interior.

The change to a 4-man front as the primary base should allow McNeill more opportunities to face single blocking as a pass rusher. The more aggressive, attacking defensive philosophy plays directly into what McNeill does well–fire off the snap, win with the unusual quickness he has for such a large man, and finish with power.

What would quantify a breakout campaign for McNeill at his position? Doubling his sack total from two in 2021 and topping the 50-tackle mark qualifies. And McNeill is absolutely capable of that — and more.

D’Andre Swift

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Now entering his third season, everything is in place for Swift to have the kind of special season so many envisioned when the Lions selected the Georgia running back in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft.

We’ve seen glimpses of what Swift can do in the open field, primarily as a receiving option out of the backfield. His gaudy catch total (62) in 13 games in 2021 pushed Swift over the 1,000 yards from scrimmage mark, with…