The Detroit Lions' offensive line experienced a major blow ahead of the 2025 season, with Frank Ragnow suddenly retiring and forcing the Lions to slide guard Graham Glasgow into center. He was clearly not fully comfortable making that switch, which led to fairly porous pass protection throughout the season.
On top of that, Taylor Decker just didn't look 100% healthy throughout the year, which led to even more issues with both the teams' pass protection and ability to get their running game going consistently, and explosively.
Entering 2026, it was obvious that this was priority No. 1 for Detroit. And they surely moved that way, adding Blake Miller in the first round of the NFL draft, signing Larry Borom to help out behind Miller, and possibly most critically, landing Cade Mays in free agency to take over from Glasgow, and Ragnow, at center.
Their guard room is still in flux, but some very key elements to their front line have been firmly addressed. That explains why Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer sounds extremely confident in Detroit's ability to figure things out in their trenches amid training camp kicking off next month.
"The Lions’ rugged identity under Dan Campbell was forged in large part by the NFL’s best offensive line. So when that group started to come apart last year, the effect was real. And the retooling through this offseason—with Cade Mays now aboard to take Frank Ragnow’s old spot at center, and pro-ready first-round right tackle Blake Miller kicking Penei Sewell back to his college position on the left side—is good evidence of how serious Detroit was about fixing it. So camp will be very important for that group, and well-regarded line coach Hank Fraley."
Lions' offensive line is one you can have confidence in, says Breer
Detroit's aggressiveness in fixing their offensive line, as Breer mentions, speaks to just how seriously they took this roster hole.
It makes sense, given their hiring of Drew Petzing this offseason and as they continue to say that Jahmyr Gibbs is going to be a huge catalyst for their offense overall. How silly would it be to bring on an OC who loves heavy gap schemes without addressing your need for a center that excels at said scheme?
The Mays signing might be the most underrated of the offseason for the Lions, and possibly the most underrated in the league overall.
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Obviously, bigger storylines have involved who they've let go, rather than brought in, but Mays stands to be the biggest impacting factor on the line overall. Centers lead their line, and he plus Penei Sewell feel like the perfect linemen to have in the Lions' trenches as they aim to re-create their 2023 and 2024 magic.
With Gibbs, and Isiah Pacheco, leading the way for the Lions' running back room, Detroit had to get serious about reshaping their line to fit that talent. They've done just that, but we have to wait and see until training camp and preseason what else could use some plugging up and fixing on the line.
Hopefully, the Lions take their safety room just as seriously as they did their O-line if their depth at that position begins to cause problems for their defense overall.
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