The Detroit Lions defense failed to meet expectations in 2025 under first-time coordinator Kelvin Sheppard. Lions coach Dan Campbell still saw enough promise to keep Sheppard around another year, and that was likely due to the play of some individuals on defense.
Our 2025 Pride of Detroit awards continue today with Defensive Player of the Year. The debate on out staff is basically just between two players, but your vote in the poll at the bottom of this page will determine the winner.
Here are our nominees for 2025 Detroit Lions Defensive Player of the Year.
Previous awards (voting still open!)
2025 Detroit Lions Defensive Player of the Year
Ryan Mathews: Jack Campbell
Dan Campbell said this was Jack Campbell’s defense during training camp, and he wasn’t lying. The third-year linebacker took over as the team’s full-time MIKE linebacker in 2025 and never looked back. En route to his first All-Pro selection, Campbell finished with the highest run-defense grade (93.0) among linebackers in 2025, and he posted the most defensive stops (68) among all defenders in the NFL according to PFF. His down-to-down consistency and availability–playing in all 17 games–was a stabilizing force for a defense that struggled to stay healthy for a second year in a row.
Al Karsten: Jack Campbell
The team’s breakout player also earned my vote as their best defensive performer overall. The 25-year-old “green dot” edged out Aidan Hutchinson, who had a solid bounce-back season after injury, earning Second Team All-Pro honors with a career-high 14.5 sacks. Campbell and Hutchinson are poised to be a wrecking crew in the front seven for years to come.
Brandon Knapp: Jack Campbell
Campbell was First-Team All Pro this year and it’s easy to see why. Whenever the Lions needed someone to make a key stop, Jack was their guy. While he hasn’t snagged an interception yet in his career, he has created turnovers on fumbles. He can rush the passer, if needed, and is a great run defender. He’s all around the best player the defense had this year.
Erik Schlitt: Aidan Hutchinson
Hutchinson led the NFL in pressures (both by Next Gen Stats and PFF’s markers) and showed incredible conditioning by registering 950 defensive snaps, 100 more than any other NFL edge rusher (save Max Crosby, 886). But what made Hutchinson truly special this season was his ability to close out games with big plays, setting up the offense for the win in Baltimore and calling game with an overtime sack on fourth down versus the Giants.
Meko Scott: Jack Campbell
A good argument could be made that this award should go to Aidan Hutchinson for the year he had after returning from his leg injury. However, like I stated in my Breakout Player of the Year selection, I was overly impressed by the play of Jack Campbell this year. He was honestly the most consistent players I saw on that defense and rarely made mistakes each and every week. So, yeah, he’s walking away with two awards for me this year.
Jeremy Reisman: Aidan Hutchinson
I couldn’t really choose between Hutchinson and Campbell, so I simply went with the player who tallied more game-changing plays. Games are won with disruption, and Hutchinson’s 14.5 sacks (fourth), four forced fumbles (t-second), and one interception had more of an impact on the game than Campbell’s 5.0 sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
John Whiticar: Jack Campbell
This will be a close battle between Aidan Hutchinson and Jack Campbell. Both were elite in 2025 and earned All-Pro nods. Hutchinson was fourth in sacks, while Campbell was second in tackles. Both were fundamental parts of the Lions defense. However, Campbell gets my nod over Hutchinson for one reason: consistency. Every week, Campbell was on his game, sometimes the lone good player on a bad defense. Hutchinson, meanwhile, was hot or cold far too often—at one point, he had a seven-game span with just 2.5 sacks.
Vote for your pick in the poll below, and justify your answer in the comment section at the bottom of the page.
See More:
