Training camp is almost here ahead of a crucial year for the Detroit Lions, who missed the playoffs at 9-8 following a memorable 15-2 campaign the year before.
There’s a lot to look out for in this year’s camp in Allen Park. The arrival of new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, what the secondary looks like and Jahmyr Gibbs’ transition to a bell-cow running back, among other storylines, bear watching. But the main development is arguably how Detroit’s revamped offensive line will gel.
Detroit identified that its offensive line play was a problem and made fixing it a top priority in the offseason. The Lions drafted Clemson tackle Blake Miller in the first round of this year’s NFL draft, signed starting center Cade Mays in free agency and moved All-Pro tackle Penei Sewell from the right side to the left.
The process looks pretty good. But we still need to see this overhauled group mesh together on the field.
Detroit Lions’ overhauled offensive line faces its first true test in training camp
Miller is the biggest unknown by default as a rookie with no NFL experience. Though he has 54 college starts under his belt at right tackle, there’s always a steep learning curve that comes with the jump to the NFL, no matter how much you play in college.
Detroit knows this and added veteran right tackle Larry Borom as a fringe-starter quality player in case Miller is not ready yet. But the hope is that the latter is ready to contribute sooner rather than later.
Mays was Detroit’s top free agent addition, an ascending player who’s gotten better each year of his career. Training camp will be important for him in terms of adjusting to a new offense and getting the terminology of the Lions’ system down.
It’ll be a transition for sure, but Mays played in a downhill, gap-heavy run scheme in Carolina last season and will likely be doing a lot of the same in Detroit.
The other for-sure starter on the offensive line is, of course, Sewell, who is moving to the left side after the release of longtime stalwart Taylor Decker. Sewell is a Hall of Fame-level talent and one of the team’s best leaders, but moving from one side of the line to another is never easy, even for arguably the best offensive tackle on the planet.
Tate Ratledge appears locked in at right guard after a good rookie season in 2025. The left guard spot, held by Christian Mahogany as of now, has plenty of competition after a bad season from Mahogany last year. Offseason additions Ben Bartch and Juice Scruggs, and second-year pro Miles Frazier are each in the mix; it’ll likely come down to who has the best camp.
Obviously, health is also a must. The Lions are deeper than most teams on the line, particularly in the interior, but they’ve been burned by injuries several times in the last couple of seasons, if not on the offensive line. An injury like the one All-Pro Los Angeles Chargers tackle Rashawn Slater suffered in camp last year could spell disaster.
Part of the reason the Lions' O-lines from 2022-24 were so dominant was that they played like one unit. This 2026 iteration is a group with basically two and a half new starters, counting Sewell’s move as half there. This group will have to click in camp for Detroit to enjoy anything close to the level of success it had up front in those three years.
The Lions’ offensive line is coming off a bad 2025. They were caught off guard by All-Pro center Frank Ragnow’s sudden retirement that June and never recovered.
Though the Lions were once again a top-five offense in total yards and points per game, their offense lacked the pop it had enjoyed from 2023-24. Detroit finished bottom-10 in the NFL in pressure rate allowed on non-blitzes, rushing stuff rate and time to throw (last in time to throw).
Jared Goff faced career highs in sacks, pressures and quarterback hits. The running game, once the lifeblood of Detroit’s offense, ranked just 24th in the NFL in successful rushes after ranking sixth in that category the year prior.
Former offensive lineman Josh Sitton once famously said switching sides is like “trying to wipe your ass with your opposite hand.” Sounds tough. But Sewell played left tackle in college at Oregon. Whether he’s anywhere near as good on the left side as he’s been on the right, he’ll be just fine.
If the offensive line gets into a groove and Petzing has a good first season calling the shots, the Lions' offense could get back to its historic 2024 form. If not, Detroit could have another season where the run plays and pass protection that used to come easily to this team are suddenly difficult to repeat throughout games.
That could be the difference between another division crown or another season watching the playoffs from the couch.
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