This has to be the year for Levi Onwuzurike in Detroit. If it isn't, he will likely be elsewhere. So it was noteworthy before the Lions' second practice of minicamp when Dan Campbell -- while reiterating that "we're still not in pads" and none of this means all that much until training camp this summer -- said, "Levi is having a really good spring."
"It’s just good to see, man," Campbell said Wednesday. "He’s put on weight, which we talked about doing, so he’s able to hold that weight and he’s strong, he’s explosive, and he’s just banking good reps right now."
The second draft pick of the Lions' rebuild under Campbell and Brad Holmes, Onwuzurike has spent most of his three seasons in Detroit either on the sidelines or hampered on the field. Drafted to help the defense wreak havoc up front -- in his own words, "to fu*k up an offensive scheme" -- he has two sacks and three tackles for loss to his name. He turned 26 in March.
Onwuzurike played in 16 games as a rookie, but was slowed by a lingering back injury from college and later a hip injury. He had surgery on his back that offseason and missed all of year two. He returned to play in 10 games last season, plus all three of the Lions' playoff games, but to little effect. He said Wednesday after practice that he "still had limits" and it wasn't until late in the season that he "really started feeling good."
"Your back separates your upper body and lower body. So the best way I can explain it is everything is moving together as one (now)," Onwuzurike said. "Speed to power, my whole body feels like one, all together."
Onwuzurike, 6'3, played last season between 280 and 285 pounds. The Lions coaching staff told him to put some weight on this offseason, so Onwuzurike said he started "eating a lot" -- steak, chicken breast, salmon -- and "working out a lot" and came back right around 300 pounds. With the extra mass, the vision is for Onwuzurike to play with power up and down the defensive line. The hope is that he hasn't lost any speed.
"It feels good," he said. "As long as my back is nice and healthy, my body can take the weight."
The Lions can't take the wait, not much longer. Onwuzurike is entering the final season of his rookie contract and must produce. He got lots of reps Wednesday with the first-team defense, playing on the interior next to Alim McNeill in four-man fronts while also getting some chances to rush off the edge. He was active and disruptive, like the Lions envisioned when they drafted him 41st overall three years ago. He had a sack against the second-team offense.
"You want to take all those opportunities you can," said Onwuzurike, who also caused some problems off the edge on Tuesday. "The more you can play, the more spots you can play, the more you'll get out there."
The opportunities are there, with defensive tackle DJ Reader and defensive end Marcus Davenport -- Detroit's two biggest additions up front -- working their way back from injuries. And so far, Onwuzurike feels like he's "done what I worked out in my offseason to do. I came out and I've made my plays." He also noted, like his coach, that he'll "take it with a grain of salt" until the pads come on.
Onwuzurike said he's not thinking about the stakes of his contract season. His focus is much narrower, to "come out here and get my sacks and take it day by day." He's heartened by the fact that he no longer has to worry about his body hurting and said it "just feels like we're back to playing football." But he knows what's on the line, now that he's inside the lines in year four.
Asked how he would describe his career to this point, Onwuzurike flipped it forward and said, "Redemption. I've got to show people what I can do. I've got to show myself what I can do."