Alim McNeill thinks Dan Campbell was joking, and he probably was.

But on the chance Campbell was serious, McNeill wants his head coach to know he’s up for playing some fullback this fall if the Detroit Lions need it.

“I still got that,” McNeill, who scored 40 touchdowns in high school as a short-yardage running back, said Thursday on the final day of Lions mandatory minicamp. “I’ll never lose that. But yeah, nah, I hope it’s real, but we’ll see.”

For now, McNeill is focused on his main job as one of the best young defensive tackles in the NFL and a key piece of a Lions defense that should be much improved this fall.

The Lions return their interception leader from last season in safety Kerby Joseph and overhauled their cornerback corps, adding potential new starters in trade (Carlton Davis), free agency (Amik Robertson) and the draft (Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr.), but they still need a second dependable pass rush threat to play in tandem with Pro Bowl defensive end Aidan Hutchinson.

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McNeill showed flashes of being that player last fall, when he set career highs with five sacks (second on the team to Hutchinson’s 11½) and 13 quarterback pressures (according to Pro Football Reference). But he missed four late-season games with a knee injury and his production was muted upon his return (five tackles, one sack in four games, including the postseason).

A third-round pick out of North Carolina State in 2021, McNeill had the best season of his career after shedding weight and changing his eating habits last spring, and he said he has stayed mostly with the same plan this offseason, other than reintroducing some red meat to his diet.

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That change has helped McNeill maintain more muscle mass, and it’s part of the reason McNeill sees himself taking another leap as a player this fall.

“I just expect more out of myself this year,” he said. “I’ll leave it at that.”

Campbell, too, expects more out of McNeill, who projects to play as the Lions’ primary three-technique pass rusher for the second straight season but could shift to nose tackle in some pass rush situations.

“Mac has got so much ability, and he’s one of the — and the way that he is built and the nimbleness and athleticism and power that he has for the way that he is, for the way that’s he’s built, it’s, you don’t see that every day,” Campbell said. “So we still feel like there’s more in there. He’s really took a big step last year. We feel like there’s more in there.”

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McNeill should benefit from playing for new defensive line coach Terrell Williams, who has excelled at getting the most out of talented interior linemen, such as Jeffery Simmons and Ndamukong Suh, in the past.

And he stands to profit from the Lions’ new additions up front, including nose tackle D.J. Reader, who did not practice this spring while recovering from a torn quad tendon.

McNeill said he envisions “destruction” when he and Reader finally get the chance to line up next to each other in games. Reader is expected to miss the start of training camp with his injury.

“There’s no other way I can see it,” McNeill said. “Every time I close my eyes and visualize it, I just see destruction, honestly.”

If that happens, McNeill could be the next Lion to land a big-money contract extension, joining offensive pillars Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Penei Sewell as a cornerstone player in the Lions’ future.

No contract is imminent, and McNeill said he told his agent to keep him out of contract talks until it’s time to sign a deal. But defensive tackle money has skyrocketed this offseason and at 24 years old, McNeill is no more than nine months away from cashing in.

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“I’m just working,” McNeill said. “I’m head down, whatever happens, happens. I’m just — I still have to play good to set myself up to even get any of that, so I’m worried about that right now.”

Campbell said he’s not counting on a contract year push from McNeill, that any growth will come naturally and from other intrinsic motivations.

And McNeill sees things the same.

“I’ve always had a mentality that I want to be the best on the field, that I want to be the best player I can be,” McNeill said. “But this year I’m about to take it over another notch.”

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' McNeill envisions 'destruction' on D-line this year