Five-year college pass rusher who went from FCS obscurity at LIU to a First Team All-Sun Belt breakout at James Madison before finishing at Rutgers.
Eric O'Neill's path to the NFL wound through three different programs, starting at the FCS level with LIU before he broke out nationally at James Madison and finished his career against Big Ten competition at Rutgers. He went undrafted in 2026 and signed with the Detroit Lions, who see a power rusher with a long track record of production.
Path to the league
O'Neill spent three seasons at LIU, where he was named NEC Player of the Year in 2023 after totaling 5.5 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss. He transferred to James Madison for a breakout 2024 season, then moved to Rutgers for his final year in 2025 before signing with the Lions as an undrafted free agent.
Career highlights
At James Madison in 2024, O'Neill exploded for 52 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss and 13 sacks, earning First Team All-Sun Belt honors and a Group of Five All-American nod while ranking fifth nationally in sacks per game. Across his full college career he totaled 222 tackles, 72.5 tackles for loss and 31 sacks over 50 games with 47 starts.
2025 season recap
Facing tougher competition in his lone season at Rutgers, O'Neill still led the Scarlet Knights with 9.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in 2025, including a career-high 10 tackles against Maryland. His production dipped from his James Madison peak but was enough to keep him on NFL radars as a power-rush option.
Sources
- Sports Reference: Eric O'Neill
- SI/OnSI: Detroit Lions UDFA Profile - Eric O'Neill
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Defensive End
- Group
- defense
- College
- Rutgers
- Hometown
- Staten Island, NY, USA
- Age
- 23
- Status
- active
