Why Benito Jones Makes Perfect Sense for Detroit’s Interior Line
The Lions need nose tackle depth, and there’s a familiar face sitting out there who already knows how to play football the right way in Allen Park.
We’ve talked about how Detroit is pretty well set at edge rusher. The interior of the defensive line? That’s where Brad Holmes might want to make a phone call or two. The market for interior linemen isn’t exactly overflowing with guys the Lions would want to sign or could afford to bring in.
But Benito Jones? He makes sense. We’ve seen him make sense before.
Jones Already Proved He Can Handle the Role
Jones was with the Lions in 2022 and 2023 and started during the 2023 season. He played well as a run-stuffing nose tackle and could eat space on pass rush reps. Nothing spectacular, but he was reliable for the most part.
Since leaving Detroit, Jones spent the last two seasons with the Miami Dolphins as a starter and/or rotational defensive tackle. In 2025, he was more of a rotational guy, but he played fairly well in terms of run defense.
Look, the suggestion here isn’t that Jones comes in to start. Detroit is set with the starters in the middle with Alim McNeill and last year’s first-round pick Tyleik Williams anchoring things down.
The Rotation Game Makes Sense
Jones would be that rotational guy with rookie Skyler Gill-Howard. You bring him in on early downs to help stuff the run, then rotate in Gill-Howard for your pass rushing reps.
Right now, the Lions don’t really have that luxury. There’s Myles Adams, whom the Lions have shown some faith in before, but that’s about it. Even Levi Onwuzurike would really be more of a pass-rush option than anything else if he’s healthy.
Theoretically, Jay Tufele could play this role, but Jones could beat him out. It’s worth thinking about if you’re Brad Holmes, and when Holmes thinks about something, it usually makes sense for the rest of us.
Is bringing back Jones a smart depth move or just recycling old pieces? Let me know what you think in the comments.
This makes a lot of sense honestly. We know Jones fits what Campbell and Holmes want to do up front, and bringing back a guy who already knows the system saves time. Having that reliable rotational piece on early downs would let us get the pass rush guys in their spots. I’m here for it.
I get the logic but I’m curious what Jones has actually shown since he left. Two years in Miami and now he’s suddenly the answer? I trust Holmes to make the right call, but I’d like to see what other options are out there before we start recycling guys who already didn’t stick around the first time.
You know what, back in the day we would’ve just let these guys walk and never looked back. The fact that Holmes is thinking about rotational depth and actually building a real defensive line strategy, that’s a different Lions organization. Jones could be that solid depth piece that helps everything else work better.