When Drew Petzing was hired to be the Detroit Lions' next offensive coordinator, the immediate reaction from some fans might've been: why are we hiring a guy from a team that just finished the year fourth in their division, and with a 3-14 record?
Arizona, much like Detroit, suffered from numerous injuries last season, in addition to the lingering inevitably that it would be Kyler Murray's final season with the Cardinals at QB.
They were were on the brink of a full strip down then, and they're fully underway with one now. And, Petzing has landed in the best scenario possible as a result. He can now flex his muscles with an offense featuring some serious juice in their wide receiver room, as well as at running back.
As ESPN's Ben Solak also hits on, it feels like Petzing's fit with the Lions' offensive line and ability to pull off 13-personnel with their receivers, rather than their tight ends, is a nearly perfect one to try and revitalize their biggest strength on offense: their run game.
"Petzing was employing 13 personnel in Arizona before Sean McVay made it cool. The Cardinals led the league in 2023 with 11.5% of their snaps in 13 personnel, then again in 2024 with 15.6% in 13 personnel...Such an approach isn't a perfect fit for Detroit, where the tight end room is thin behind Sam LaPorta even with the free agent signing of Tyler Conklin. But it serves as evidence that Petzing will push creative buttons to conjure an effective running game, and he can do it without an elite offensive line."
Petzing can restore the feeling for Lions rush with 13-personnel tweaks
As noted by Solak, Petzing is a huge fan of utilizing 13-personnel in his scheme. Of course, beyond LaPorta, the Lions don't have the most reliable depth at tight end. But, they do have a deep bench at wide receiver, and one specific receiver who stands to have a huge role in Detroit's offense in his second season: Isaac TeSlaa.
TeSlaa, at 6-4, is one of the Lions' biggest targets on offense outside of their tight end room. He's also one of their best blocking options, and that should open things up for Petzing as he figures out how to run a heavy gap scheme more often with both the Lions' offensive line, as well as with their best blockers in LaPorta and potentially TeSlaa.
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Getting Detroit back to their explosive ways on offense, especially behind Jahmyr Gibbs and Isiah Pacheco, would completely revive what felt like a very flat Lions offense from 2025. Per Solak, the Lions' rushing success rate in 2025 was 40.1%, good for 26th in the NFL, while their explosive rush rate was 7.2%, good for 21st.
They have the players to make it happen, especially after adding Cade Mays in free agency and with Penei Sewell swinging over to the left side of the line. Detroit has to hope, though, that their young guard room and rookie Blake Miller can provide meaningful downhill blocking to make this rushing plan work.
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