No one knows what to make of offensive coordinator Drew Petzing's integration into the Detroit Lions' ecosystem. His fit with franchise quarterback Jared Goff remains an open-ended question heading into training camp, though some are skeptical about the newly formed duo.
Time will tell if Petzing brings the philosophies from his previous stint with the Arizona Cardinals in the same role from 2023 through 2025. Lions head coach Dan Campbell strove to maintain continuity for Goff after losing wunderkind play-caller Ben Johnson to the Chicago Bears last offseason. Attempting to run it back as much as possible ultimately proved futile, however, so perhaps there's a desire to attack 2026 with a fresh perspective.
In Arizona, Petzing primarily worked with a signal-caller whose archetype and physical tools are unlike what he's inheriting now, à la Kyler Murray, to say the least. That's why FanSided's Jake Beckman is dubious regarding Detroit's hire, yet much of the concern appears to focus on how Goff factors into the equation.
"The gamble here is that we don’t really know what a quarterback like Goff is going to do in this offense, and we don't actually know if it's a good offense.
"Kyler Murray freelances, and he freelances a lot. He's a smaller cat who made his money by being mobile and chunking long balls (which he used to be good at).
"Goff is totally different. He’s a huge dude who can be creative, but he'll mostly just play in structure and do what the offense needs him to do at an incredibly high level," Beckman wrote.
Jared Goff caught in the crosshairs of Lions' Drew Petzing gamble
It almost feels as if Goff is being diminished for Murray's shortcomings. The latter has practically tainted the former's outlook under Petzing's tutelage, which can be unfair to all parties involved.
There are plenty of reasons why the Cardinals didn't light up the scoreboard over the past three seasons. From Murray's health (or lack thereof) and inconsistencies to poor defensive play dictating game script and protection woes, the list goes on. The Lions present a clean slate for Petzing, whose profile quietly aligns with Goff better than Beckman's pessimism may suggest.
Petzing's Cardinals notably utilized play action at the fourth-highest rate last year (18.3 percent). His tendency to dial up fake handoffs is music to Goff's ears, and the numbers bear that out.
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Goff has developed a reputation as one of the NFL's best play-action passers and has shown no signs of slowing down. It was business as usual this past campaign, too, despite the team's overall regression. He ranked highly in the following categories out of 43 players with at least 150 dropbacks, including the playoffs:
- Fourth in play-action passing yards (1,518)
- Tied for fifth in play-action passing yards per attempt (9.3)
- Seventh in play-action passer rating (112.5)
- Tied for eighth in play-action passing touchdowns (nine)
- 11th in play-action completion percentage (69.9)
Note: Metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus' premium stats ($).
Moreover, Murray's missed enough time to give us a glimpse of what Petzing can do with someone of Goff's skill set. Arizona most recently turned to veteran Jacoby Brissett, who's also best suited to stand in the pocket and work within the confines of the scheme.
While Brissett's reign as the starter in 2025 didn't translate to wins, posting a 2-12 record, he was quite productive. The journeyman only trailed Goff in passing yards (3,366) and was tied for third in touchdowns (23) from Week 6 on, for whatever that's worth.
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