We’re just over a week away from the start of a critical season for the Detroit Lions. All offseason long, pundits have peddled narratives about “Super Bowl windows” and whether or not this team still has what it takes to contend after missing the playoffs last year.
Detroit returns a talented, if imperfect roster in 2026. There’s plenty of stars at the top, but here are five Lions with the most to prove out of the gate when the team hosts the New Orleans Saints in Week 1.
Cornerback DJ Reed
Much has been made about the Lions’ No. 2 cornerback situation in light of the Terrion Arnold release. But with all of that, it really shouldn’t go unnoticed that Detroit’s No. 1 cornerback is far from a sure thing.
D.J. Reed was up and down in the first season of the three-year, $48 million contract he signed with the Lions last offseason. He looked like a true No. 1 corner early in the year, allowing just a 61.3 passer rating and zero touchdowns when targeted in the first four games of the season.
But after missing six games due a hamstring injury, Reed came back and something was missing. He allowed an 88.0 passer rating the rest of the way and didn’t look like the player he was in September.
This offseason, Reed reportedly got stem-cell treatment in Panama and said his burst has returned. That’ll need to be true for this Lions secondary, who needs at least one player they don’t have to worry about.
Guard Christian Mahogany
The Lions made Mahogany earn his starting job all over again after a rough 2025. He was a liability in pass protection and graded out as Pro Football Focus’ 77th-ranked pass protector out of 81 guards.
Detroit brought in guards Ben Bartch and Juice Scruggs, and also had 2025 fifth-rounder Miles Frazier competing with Mahogany for the job. He held down his spot and reportedly is set to start in Week 1, but the Lions have options. Mahogany absolutely has to hold up well against the Saints.
Playing alongside newly-flipped left tackle Penei Sewell should help him do that. But the Lions’ offensive line was bad last year, and Mahogany’s play was no small part of the struggles. He needs to have the best season of his young career for Detroit’s offense to get back to where it needs to be.
He’s been promising before, and it’s too early to flat-out give up on him. But the beginning of the year is huge for Mahogany’s future in Detroit.
Edge DJ Wonnum
Wonnum was a bargain-bin free agency pickup, signing a one-year $3 million deal this offseason. He’s a big part of Detroit’s replacement plan for the departed Al-Quadin Muhammad and Marcus Davenport as Aidan Hutchinson’s edge rushing partner.
A big defensive end at 6-foot-5, 262 lbs, Detroit needs Wonnum to be a three-down player who can take advantage of the opportunities he gets when teams focus their attention on stopping Hutchinson. He’s done similar things in the past, recording two eight sack seasons in 2021 and 2023 playing opposite star edge rusher Danielle Hunter in Minnesota.
But the common criticism you’ll find with Wonnum is he’s stiff, lacks fluidity and cheap free agents are cheap for a reason. Plus, the Lions have second-round rookie Derrick Moore chomping at the bit. If he’s a non-factor for Detroit off the edge, the upside of this defense takes a big hit, especially with all the questions in the secondary.
This looks like the deepest defensive line the Lions have had in the Dan Campbell era. Wonnum has the opportunity to prove he’s a driving factor of that transformation in Week 1.
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Center/guard Juice Scruggs
Our second interior offensive lineman? Yes. That’s how bad it was last year. The Lions were shell-shocked by center Frank Ragnow’s June retirement, kicked Graham Glasgow into his position and he played poorly.
Detroit made an effort to revamp its offensive line by signing center Cade Mays this offseason, but he’s out until October with a wrist injury. That means Scruggs, who the Lions got in the David Montgomery trade, will take over in the time being.
Scruggs doesn’t need to be Ragnow-level, or even Mays-level. That’s not fair to ask. But he absolutely has to be a substantial upgrade over Glasgow for this offense to function. For as good as he’s been in Detroit, there isn’t a quarterback more susceptible to interior pressure than Jared Goff.
Scruggs has to keep Goff clean and pave the way for some consistency in the running game, neither of which was happening last year. He’s started 20 NFL games, eight of which have been at center. Week 1 will be our first look at whether his play can keep the offense treading water until Mays gets back.
Safety Chuck Clark
Honestly, take your pick between Clark, Avonte Maddox, Christian Izien and Rock Ya-Sin in the Lions’ secondary. And we’ve already covered Reed here. That’s how bad the Lions’ secondary situation is. The Lions are poised to become the first defense since the 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers to start four defensive backs aged 29 or older in Week 1.
The 31-year old Clark is the oldest of the bunch, so he gets to be the face of this section. Of course, age doesn’t mean the group is automatically going to play badly, but that collective age is definitely not what any team dreams of deploying in its secondary.
Clark has gotten good marks for his on-field communication and leadership this summer. Week 1 will go a long way in showing whether that’ll be enough for the Lions’ secondary to provide even acceptable play for the first half or so of the season, until Brian Branch and possibly Kerby Joseph make their returns.
Detroit already had huge problems allowing too many explosive plays this year, and that looks like an issue that’ll get worse before it gets better. Clark and the rest of the Lions’ veteran backup defensive backs will have their say in how much of a crippling issue this is for the team to begin the season.
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