John Morton might've been one of the worst parts of the Detroit Lions' disappointing 9-8 season.
The former offensive coordinator was promoted to replace Ben Johnson, with the expectation that he'd be able to not only keep an already high-performing offense afloat, but that he'd be able to help them grow to an even better unit. The porosity of the offensive line, coupled with the lack of imagination with Jameson Williams' role, made it so that would never be the case.
With Morton out and Drew Petzing now in, the Lions are looking to reset their offense once again under a new play-caller. But, Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox just named the worst-case scenario for the Lions headed into 2026, and it has everything to do with Petzing's success in Year 1.
"Dan Campbell tried to resolve things by taking over play-calling duties during the season. In January, Detroit replaced offensive coordinator John Morton with Drew Petzing. Given that Petzing oversaw a Cardinals offense that ranked 19th overall last season, the change may not have excited the Lions' fanbase."
He added, "in a best-case scenario, though, Petzing will install a scheme during the offseason that allows the offense to return to its 2024 form. In a worst-case scenario, he has Detroit's offense looking more like the unit that never cracked the top 10 in Petzing's three seasons in Arizona."
A Petzing failure is worst-case scenario for the 2026 Lions
Petzing is going to be laser-focused (most likely) on getting the Lions' run game going again in 2026. Their offensive line is going to need some work to make that happen, namely, a change at center and some depth at both left guard and left tackle. We still have no clue what's going to happen with Taylor Decker, and Christian Mahogany's injuries should force Detroit to add competition to the LG room.
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If they can clean those areas up in free agency, or on the trade market, or even in the NFL draft, then Petzing's looking at the best roster he's ever had in terms of trying to do what he wants to do with his schemes. He's been big on gap schemes to help elevate the role of running backs in the past, and he's never had as dynamic of a duo as Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.
Detroit cannot afford to repeat the same roster construction mistakes that hamstrung them and Morton in 2025. It seems like they're not trying to do so, so it doesn't feel like this nightmare scenario has any risk of becoming a reality for them.