Lions roster preview: Can Alex Anzalone duplicate last year’s great season?

As we head toward a new season, All Lions is looking at each member of the 53-man roster to recap their 2023-24 season and look ahead to the upcoming campaign. Today, we focus on linebacker Alex Anzalone. Check out our past stories on each member of the offense , punter Jack Fox , the plan at kicker , the defensive linemen and linebacker Jack Campbell .

The Detroit Lions saw improvement down the stretch last season from rookie linebacker Jack Campbell, whom they hope will be a key part of their defense for years to come, but he’s not the only linebacker whose play has been ascending.

Veteran Alex Anzalone isn’t someone many people would consider a rising young talent. Heck, he’ll turn 30 next month and has seven NFL seasons under his belt, so he’s not young by pro football standards. However, his play has been ascending.

The former Saints third-round pick never really caught on in New Orleans. After following head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn from the Saints to Detroit in 2021, Anzalone posted some career-best numbers but was graded as one of the worst linebackers in the NFL by Pro Football Focus. Nevertheless, the Lions gave him another one-year deal with a raise, which was followed by another career-year and got him a three-year, $18.3 million deal from the Lions.

Now entering the second year of that deal, Anzalone is coming off yet another career-year. However, unlike back in 2021, he’s no longer grading out as one of the worst linebackers. Last year, he got a 69.8 overall grade from PFF, which was 33rd out of 82 qualifying linebackers, as well as a 70.4 run defense grade (38th), a 72.6 pass-rush grade (22nd) and a 66.1 coverage grade (32nd).

Statistically, he also stacked up well against his peers.

He racked up 94 tackles, per PFF, the 14th-most among linebackers, and a career-high 48 stops — tackles constituting a “failure” for the offense — tied for 16th-most among linebackers.

Against the pass, his 25 pressures were the third-most generated by a linebacker in 2023, despite having just a 12.2% pass-rush rate (52nd-highest among linebackers with at least 10 pass rushes. Per PFF, his pass-rush productivity was 23rd-best among linebackers with at least 10 pass rushes.

In coverage, his reception rate allowed (75.7%) was 23rd-best among linebackers with at least 30 snaps and his passer rating allowed (93.8) was 27th. Both of those marks were one spot behind three-time All-Pro Lavonte David.

He proved himself as one of the most versatile linebackers, playing primarily in the box but also 104 snaps in the slot (fifth-most among linebackers), 45 on the defensive line and 18 at corner (third-most among linebackers).

Plus, he’s been extremely durable and dependable for the Lions, not only playing over 1,000 snaps last season but nearly 3,100 over the past three years, something only a handful of other linebackers have done.

His biggest issue, meanwhile, has been missed tackles. His 23 missed tackles last season were the sixth-most among linebackers and his 16.5% missed tackle rate was tied for seventh-highest at his position.

He may not get a lot of national attention but Anzalone has been huge for the Lions. Plus, the average annual value of his contract ranks just 26th among linebackers, making last year’s performance a huge bargain, too.

His rise has been remarkable, and with improved talent around him, he definitely has a chance to continue his ascension. However, as he moves to the other side of 30, it’ll be interesting to see how willing the Lions are to hand him another contract.

For now, he remains a key piece of Detroit’s defense and an unheralded hero of the unit. Can he continue to outperform expectations and duplicate last year’s effort?