Detroit Lions: Why a rookie needs to start at guard

The Detroit Lions are banking on their reshuffling at the guard position paying off with a plug-and-play rookie.

The Detroit Lions’ seemingly endless tinkering with their offensive line continued this offseason with back-to-back selections of guards in the third and fourth rounds of April’s draft. If one of those players isn’t an early starter, the unit could be in for even more disappointing performances.

Third-round pick Jonah Jackson of Ohio State and fourth-rounder Logan Stenberg of Kentucky will be two names to watch when Lions training camp opens later this month, as Detroit searches for a replacement for guard/center Graham Glasgow. After four solid years with the Lions, Glasgow signed with the Denver Broncos in free agency, after the Lions showed no interest in offering him an extension.

Neither of the two rookies is guaranteed anything at this point, and the ongoing health crisis could limit the amount of much needed on-field time that they will receive this summer. Still, guard is one of a handful of NFL positions that tend to have the smoothest transitions from college to the professional ranks.

Also, the options behind them on the Lions’ roster are hardly inspiring. With Glasgow gone, the Lions are left with three veterans at the top of the guard depth chart. Those three – Joe Dahl, Kenny Wiggins, and Oday Aboushi – each have experience in the Lions’ offensive system, which is a plus. None of them, however, are anywhere near the upper echelon of the position, and two of them (Dahl and Wiggins) are coming off of injury-shortened seasons.

In addition to their familiarity with offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell’s scheme, the Lions certainly value the professional, team-first nature of these three. The on-field results from last season were lacking, however.

Despite Dahl’s steady progress in his fourth season and Glasgow’s reliability, the Lions employed a strange three-man rotation with them and Wiggins for the majority of 2019, even when all three were healthy. It didn’t go well.

Compounding the Lions’ miserable 3-12-1 record, in the seven games in which Wiggins played at least 40% of the teams’ offensive snaps in 2019, the Lions averaged just 86 rushing yards. This is opposed to the over 112 yards they picked up on the ground in the nine contests when he did not reach that number. He just doesn’t move bodies the way a starting guard needs to.

Aboushi held his own in starting the final two games of the season last year, playing every offensive snap in those two outings. However, he couldn’t crack the starting lineup until the Lions were long since eliminated from playoff contention and practically everyone in front of him was no longer available. That should tell you what you need to know about his viability as a regular starter.

Dahl, if healthy, is the likely choice to start at left guard. The Lions were pleased enough with his development to give him a two-year contract extension last summer.

How this year’s unpredictable training camp unfolds will likely determine who his counterpart is to open the year. Jackson was a highly-touted member of a star-studded Buckeye offense and could have the edge over Stenberg, who has a rugged reputation but will need to clean up his penchant for silly penalties before fully gaining the Lions’ trust.

Should one of these two secure the job come Week One or soon after, it will be a good sign that the Lions hit with the pick. If they can’t, it will be a negative outcome, showing that they couldn’t beat out a group of journeymen, who have done little to help elevate the Lions’ offense in recent seasons.