The hiring of offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and major reshuffling along the Detroit Lions' offensive line are changes that fans have to be hoping will revitalize their offense in 2026.
If one, or both, don't work out, we could be in for a long season.
Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox recently wrote up a list of best and worst case scenarios for every single offense in the league ahead of the 2026 season, and for the Lions, those choices are obvious: their best case scenario, according to Knox, is that Petzing fully revives their offense back to a multi-dimensional force, while their offensive line falling flat after too many changes being the worst case scenario.
If the Lions aren't able to get their run game going, which felt like their biggest issue offensively last season, it'll be due to the offensive line's inability to create lanes for a room that features a superstar in Jahmyr Gibbs, but a reclamation project in Isiah Pacheco.
However, with Petzing in tow - who loves to utilize the run game to create his offense - it feels hard to imagine.
Best and worst case scenario for Lions offense aren't compatible
The Lions' downfall as it pertains to their offensive line feels set up to be their guard room. Tate Ratledge was perfectly fine his rookie season, earning a 70.3 overall grade from PFF after a slow start at right guard. But, it was a revolving door at left guard for Detroit.
Christian Mahogany had just started to piece it together at left guard when he suffered a fracture in his leg. The team then had to shuffle between Trystan Colon, Kayode Awosika, Giovanni Manu, and Miles Frazier, and none were standout talents compared to Mahogany. If they can't get a run blocker as good as Ratledge out of Mahogany consistently in 2026, then that's an issue. Same for Cade Mays, who is the Lions' new starting center.
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Again, though, Petzing is known to be a coordinator that emphasizes the teams' ability to squeeze everything out of their running back room. Colton Pouncy, The Athletic's beat reporter covering the Lions, wrote this about Petzing following his hire:
"Arizona’s run game under Petzing was one of the league’s most efficient in 2023 and 2024. The Cardinals were a top-10 unit across the board in the categories listed above, doing it with a heavy gap scheme that would fit Detroit’s personnel and must have grabbed Campbell’s attention."
As noted by Pouncy in this same piece, injuries had a ton to do with the Arizona Cardinals' drop off in production with their rushing, but prior to those injuries taking firm hold of their roster, Petzing ran a dynamic offense on the ground. So, he and offensive line coach Hank Fraley have to feel like an ideal pairing, especially with Detroit running out a fully healthy line in training camp.
It'll be disappointing to see any major failures for this Lions offense in 2026, especially since that was far from their biggest weakness last year. But, again, it feels like these best and worst case scenarios laid out by Bleacher Report are not compatible with one another.
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