The Detroit Lions are rolling into the season with plenty of offensive firepower, but one recent ranking took a hard left turn on them.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, Jameson Williams and Jared Goff give this group a loaded look on paper, which is why PFF’s placement for the Lions’ offensive line feels so jarring. In its official 2026 NFL offensive line rankings, Detroit landed at No. 19 - behind even the Las Vegas Raiders, who went 3-14 last season.
Gordon McGuinness of PFF points to injuries as the main reason the group slid. The biggest issue is the loss of new starting center Cade Mays.
"The injury to new starting center Cade Mays drops the Lions from a team that would have ranked 13th on this list to just inside the top 20," he notes in the piece. "Penei Sewell moves from right tackle to left tackle to replace Taylor Decker and is coming off a career-high 95.1 PFF grade last year. Tate Ratledge looked the part as a rookie at right guard, but Christian Mahogany struggled."
McGuinness also flagged the uncertainty around another rookie.
"With Blake Miller set to start as a rookie, there are several concerns with this group. If Miller can hit the ground running, then the Lions can be a top-10 unit when Mays returns, but Jared Goff could easily find himself under more pressure in 2026."
That’s the warning sign for Detroit as it heads into Sunday’s regular-season opener against the Saints: the talent is there, but the line has real questions before the season even gets going.
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Lions Open Week 1 With Pressure On Unproven Replacements
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