With the bulk of offseason moves now finished up, ESPN took a look at every NFC team’s offseason.
In its breakdown of the Detroit Lions, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell writes that the Lions’ best offseason move was replenishing the offensive line.
Detroit’s line wasn’t up to its usual standards in 2025. The Lions finished 20th in run block win rate and 31st in pass block win rate. Their success rate on run plays fell from sixth in 2023 and 2024 to 25th in 2025. And given Jared Goff’s large on/off splits with regard to pressure — Goff ranks third in the NFL in EPA per play when unpressured over the past three years but 27th in the league when pressured — the Lions need to make sure they’re running the ball effectively and staying out of obvious passing situations to protect their quarterback.
Facing a pending cap crunch with extensions for several young starters, general manager Brad Holmes did pretty well. The Lions cut veteran Taylor Decker and moved Penei Sewell to left tackle, where he excelled as a rookie while Decker was injured. Sewell was an elite left tackle prospect coming out of Oregon and should do just fine on Goff’s blind side. He’ll be replaced on the right side by first-round pick Blake Miller, whose experience as a four-year starter at Clemson should make the 22-year-old an immediate contributor at the pro level.
The Lions also cut Graham Glasgow at center and replaced him with Panthers center Cade Mays, who spent several years as Carolina’s backup interior lineman before doing solid work in pass protection as the team’s primary center for most of 2025. It would have been nice to see the Lions add more at guard besides 49ers lineman Ben Bartch, who wasn’t a regular during his time in San Francisco, but Lions fans will hope Holmes did enough to get the Lions back on track up front.
The Lions also landed Juice Scruggs as part of the David Montgomery trade and signed former Dolphins lineman Larry Borom as part of its offensive line overhaul.
Mays figures to be a definite upgrade at center and the Lions are hopeful that they’ve added a plug-and-play right tackle in Blake Miller from the NFL draft.
After the way 2025 unfolded, Lions fans are hopeful that these moves can help Detroit reestablish what made it so successful in 2023 and 2024.
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: ESPN diagnoses best Detroit Lions offseason move
Reporting by Josh Helmer, Lions Wire / Lions Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
