Newly signed Detroit Lions DE D.J. Wonnum (98) Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

What Lions Are Getting in OLB D.J. Wonnum

Originally posted on Detroit Lions on SI
By Christian Booher | Last updated Mar 18, 2026 7:04 AM ET

The Detroit Lions have added another veteran to coordinator Kelvin Sheppard's defense.

On Tuesday, the Lions signed free agent D.J. Wonnum to a one-year contract reportedly worth up to $6 million. Wonnum has played a hybrid defensive end/linebacker role throughout his career, which has spanned six seasons across two different teams.

Entering the league as a fourth-round pick in 2020, Wonnum played the first four seasons of his career in the NFC North with the Minnesota Vikings. He signed with the Carolina Panthers prior to the 2024 campaign and has spent the last two seasons there.

Wonnum is an interesting addition to Detroit's defense. The Lions are thin at the defensive end position, with little in terms of experienced depth aside from standout Aidan Hutchinson, who had a career year in 2025 with 14.5 sacks.

Essentially, the Lions are plugging Wonnum in for departed defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad. Last season, Muhammad finished second on the Lions in sacks with a career-high 11, but underlying metrics indicate that he played a unique role that may not have been sustainable in Detroit's style.

Wonnum doesn't have the pass-rush production that Muhammad had, but may be more of a stylistic fit for Detroit's defense. For starters, he has played at least 50 percent of his team's defensive snaps in each of his six NFL seasons.

Last year in Carolina, Wonnum logged 688 defensive snaps, which was good for 68 percent of the team's overall defensive snaps. By comparison, Muhammad played only 41 percent of the Lions' defensive snaps despite being available in every game.

The biggest contributor to the difference in workload is utilization in the run game. Wonnum was a player the Panthers relied on to play every down, which meant he was on the field plenty in base packages. Detroit likes to play base defense, and as a result this could be an ideal match between player and team.

Wonnum also has been durable throughout his career, playing a full season in 2021 and playing at least 15 games in every other year but 2024.

Wonnum earned a 61.6 run defense grade in Carolina last season, while his pass-rush mark was lower at 50.4. He finished with three sacks, and doesn't appear to be a high-volume producer of pressures with 31 in total over the course of the regular season and postseason.

In his career, Wonnum has 30 total sacks with his career-best eight coming in 2023 as a member of the Vikings. While he can be a complimentary pass-rusher who contributes in sputs, he does not profile as a player who will be a major difference maker in this area.

It appears as though he'll be best as a run defender, and he is capable of playing every down which gives the Lions some stability on the edge. This addition shouldn't prevent the Lions from exploring the idea of drafting a young defensive end, but certainly gives them some veteran stability on the opposite side of Hutchinson.

This article first appeared on Detroit Lions on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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