PALM BEACH, Fla. — Both Lions general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell are excited about what the Lions have along their defensive line after the first couple waves of free agency.

The Lions return Aidan Hutchinson, who was on an MVP trajectory before he was lost for the season Week 6. Holmes said Monday at the Annual League Meetings the data on Hutchinson's recovery from a broken leg looks really good. He's expected to be back when the Lions begin the offseason training program later this month.

Alim McNeill is expected to be back sometime in September or October from a torn ACL. Those are two Pro Bowl players upfront with DJ Reader, Josh Paschal and Mekhi Wingo also returning.

Detroit re-signed Levi Onwuzurike and Marcus Davenport to one-year deals this offseason, and Campbell said Tuesday he thinks Davenport can have a great year and be a terrific complement to Hutchinson on the edge, if he's able to avoid injury and stay on the field.

The Lions also signed Roy Lopez in free agency, and he seems like a great culture and scheme fit.

"Really excited about our depth and what we were able to acquire on the D-line," Holmes said Monday.

Campbell also believes they aren't done adding to that group.

"Where we are at right now, we're excited," he said. "We really got everyone back we wanted to get. We thought it was important trying to make the most of what you had in free agency. To get Davenport back. Certainly, Hutch is coming off injury. What we did with Mac (McNeill) early in the fall (re-signing him to a four-year deal). We added Lopez to Reader.

"We feel good about where we're at and we're not done, either. That's the point. We're not done. We don't know when, maybe it will be the draft, we're looking at everything. It could be after the draft. It could be anytime. But at this point, with where we're at, we do, we like where we're at. Getting Levi back was big."

The NFL Draft certainly seems like a great place to add to that unit as this year's class of both interior and edge talent is widely considered the deepest in more than a decade. It's talented, it's deep and there seems to be a fit for all schemes.

Getting Hutchinson back is going to be huge for this defense. He had 7.5 sacks and was leading the NFL in pressures (45) in only five and a half games before the injury. It can't be understated what getting him back for 17 games might mean for Detroit's pass-rush numbers.

"To be able to get Levi back, he was rolling with his pressures and hopefully he can get home even more so. That's going to help out a lot more," Holmes said. "Hopefully, with bringing Davenport back, hopefully his injury luck is on the right side of things. That frees up Josh Paschal to be able to do more from a pass-rush standpoint, really more interior-wise than outside. We just had to use Paschal as an edge rusher because of circumstances with injuries and all that.

"So, we feel good where we're at. To be able to get Lopez to fill — he's more of a first and second-down guy, run defender — but to be able to have him back and still got Reader. So, we feel pretty good. Actually, we're getting kinda heavy on the defensive line. Not saying that any position will be ignored, but so far, I feel like we've had success, and we're going to continue to fill depth, as I think you saw last year how important that part is."

Detroit finished just 25th in pass-rush win rate (35 percent), per ESPN statistics, and their 37.0 sacks ranked 23rd. They were, however, the No. 5 rushing defense, allowing on average less than 100 yards on the ground per game (98.4).

When McNeill returns from his ACL rehab, it's a pretty formidable starting four with him, Hutchinson, Reader and Davenport with good depth and experience behind it. It's hard to imagine the group being as decimated by injury as it was last year.

That being said, adding even more depth and talent to that defensive line group could still be in the cards this offseason.