ALLEN PARK — The Detroit Lions have reloaded their defense, picking up cover men all over the secondary while beefing up their interior by signing DJ Reader. With the star nose tackle playing laying alongside an emergent Alim McNeill, and Aidan Hutchinson coming off the edge, that front has a chance to be nasty.

Now just imagine this: Levi Onwuzurike turns out to be the player Detroit thought it was getting four years ago.

Let’s not forget, general manager Brad Holmes — whose keen eye for talent needs no introduction these days — originally wanted to trade back into the first round for the interior rusher. Holmes was eventually talked out of that deal by his brain trust, then still landed Onwuzurke a round later, at 41st overall.

Clearly, Holmes saw huge things for Onwuzurike.

These days, the Lions are finally seeing it during the early days of training camp.

“It’s clear that he’s one of the best (in camp),” head coach Dan Campbell said before a light practice on Wednesday morning. “I mean, it’s just clear. And he plays with violence. He’s stout. He’s fundamentally better than he’s ever been, and he’s shown that he has some versatility. Between the big end in base and three-technique, he can play some big end in sub, in nickel, and he’s just earned it. And so he continues to go, he feels good, and so he’s in a good place.”

Onwuzurike has never really been in a good place in Detroit. He came in with huge potential, selected behind Penei Sewell and just ahead of McNeill. Those guys have now become cornerstone pieces, while Onwuzurike has been beset by one injury after another. He missed his entire rookie training camp with a back issue, and fell so far behind that he struggled to make a difference when he did hit the field. A year later, he didn’t see the field at all after undergoing back surgery.

Last season, Onwuzurike finally managed to stay healthy and played increasingly well as he regained strength down the stretch. And now that he’s enjoyed a healthy offseason for the first time in his pro career, he’s starting to remind folks around Allen Park while he was so prized coming out of Washington.

“Levi’s been unbelievable, man,” Hutchinson said. “From OTAs, he got his back healthy, and he’s just a force of nature out there. He’s showing it in camp so far. He put the pads on and he’s been great, man. It’s really going to be crucial this year to have him playing at a high level for us to be rolling as a D-line.”

Onwuzurike’s performance has been so good, he’s received a steady diet of reps with the first team in training camp. He’s been stout against the run and disruptive against the pass, blasting into the backfield for a handful of pressures. And few players have stayed longer after practice, as Onwuzurike puts in extra reps under the watchful eye of Reader.

Asked about it after practice on Wednesday, Onwuzurike declined to comment.

“Sorry bro, I’m not talking,” he said. “I’m locked in man.”

For the first time in his four-year career, it certainly seems so.

“I feel like there’s always been a sense of urgency, it’s just he’s lacked the confidence because the body hadn’t felt right. That’s hard,” Campbell said. “When you’re doing everything you can but your body’s behind you, you’re trying to drag it along with you, that’s a hard place to be in. So, I would say the mindset is the same, it’s just, now, ‘OK, hey, these work. This works. OK.’ And his confidence is just going sky high.”