The Detroit Lions will open their 2026 season on Sunday at home against the New Orleans Saints.
It would be easy to put a mark in the win column for the home team, and the betting odds would say that, but New Orleans played pretty well in the second half of last season. They will not be a pushover, with a good offense and a defense that'll come to play even without Cameron Jordan.
A rebound back to the playoffs for the Lions needs to start with a win on Sunday, ahead of a short week in Week 2 where they'll travel to take on the Buffalo Bills on "Thursday Night Football." The history of 0-2 teams making the playoffs still isn't very good. A soft-looking schedule would help them buck those odds, but "win the ones you're supposed" to applies to the Saints.
Even with the stakes high for everyone in Allen Park this year, these six players already have their backs against the wall in Week 1.
6 Lions players whose backs are already against the wall in Week 1
6. K Jake Bates
Last season's downturn, followed by a shaky preseason, has invited the notion Bates should face competition. As expected, head coach Dan Campbell, and now special teams coach Dave Fipp, have expressed confidence in their kicker.
But if Bates continues to struggle against the Saints, with a missed extra point here or a pivotal missed field goal there, that tone could change quickly. Too much is at stake this season to lose games, especially to an inferior opponent, in the margin of kicks that need to be made.
5. CB Ennis Rakestraw
Injuries have really derailed Rakestraw's last three seasons of football, going back to his final season at Missouri. Now healthy, he's being counted on to do more this season and carry one of the last torches for the Lions' 2024 draft class.
This is a make-or-break season for Rakestraw, and it starts immediately with eyes on how he does in Week 1.
4. S Thomas Harper
3. S Avonte Maddox
2. S Chuck Clark
With Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch both out for at least the first four games of the season, those who are in line to replace him are in the spotlight. Campbell can say whatever he wants to express confidence in the group, but they have to prove it on the field.
Clark has been very capable over the course of his career, and he rebounded back nicely in term of Pro Football Focus grade last year with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But he also did that over the lowest snap share and number of snaps he's had in a healthy season in quite some time, and he has not had an interception since 2022.
Maddox brings savvy and versatility to the mix, and he may also mix in at slot corner while taking snaps at safety.
Harper was a charter member of last year's "Legion of Whom", with one interception, five pass breakups and the 11th-best overall grade among safeties from PFF. A preseason injury appears to be behind him, and now he has to step up even more with Joseph
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However it looks, the Lions need to find way to navigate the absences of Joseph and Branch for however long they'll be out. Current optimism could dissolve quickly.
1. LG Christian Mahogany
Campbell has flat-out refused to name Mahogany the starter at left guard all along, to the point of inviting the unideal idea of a rotation between he and Ben Bartch against the Saints. It might be against the head coach's will, as it should be, but that it's even out there after Bartch was out with an injury for a big chunk of camp says it all.
Mahogany has shown some promise around an illness delaying the start of his rookie season and an injury last season. But it's time for him to step up, and the Lions are waiting for him to do so. Along with Rakestraw, whatever dignity a dismal 2024 class has left depends on it.
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