The Detroit Lions have a good problem on their hands, and Juice Scruggs is right in the middle of it.
Three weeks into the season, Scruggs has been one of the more effective centers in the league. His 71.5 PFF grade ranks fourth among NFL centers, and his work in the run game has stood out even more.
Scruggs owns a 78.7 run defense grade, second-best at the position, and that play up front has helped Detroit keep some of the rushing efficiency it lost last season. The Lions are sixth in rushing success rate at 48.2% and fourth in average yards before contact per carry at 2.06, according to NFL Pro.
Dan Campbell had plenty of praise for Scruggs during his weekly radio hit on 97.1 The Ticket.
“He really fits us,” Campbell said. “He’s a pro.
Man, he’s high energy. He’s the same guy every day.
He busts his tail, and he’s getting better. He’s getting better for us at the center position.
So, man, he’s a good fit for us.”
Detroit acquired Scruggs this offseason in a trade that sent David Montgomery to the Houston Texans. At the time, he was expected to be a top backup at both center and guard.
That changed quickly once Cade Mays broke his wrist early in training camp. Scruggs was pulled out of the left guard battle and moved into the starting center job.
Now the Lions are heading toward a decision point.
Campbell said Tuesday morning that Mays could be back around the Week 6 bye.
“Right now, we’re kinda hoping around the bye, somewhere in there,” Campbell told 97.1 The Ticket on Tuesday morning. “Before or after the bye with him, but he’s doing a great job. He really is.”
That leaves Detroit with a real question: when Mays is ready, where does Scruggs fit? The Lions gave Mays a three-year, $25 million deal to be their center for the next few years, so it’s hard to imagine him staying on the sideline for long. At the same time, Scruggs has been too good to make an easy move off the field.
Campbell was asked by Jon Jansen whether Scruggs would go back into the left guard competition, and his answer was short.
“Absolutely.”
Campbell wasn’t asked whether he’d consider keeping Scruggs at center.
For now, Christian Mahogany is holding down left guard, though he had been battling Ben Bartch for the job before Bartch went down with a foot injury. Campbell said Mahogany earned positive marks in the Jets game.
“I thought he had a winning performance,” Campbell said. “I thought he played good enough for us to win.
I thought he ran off the football. I thought he was violent, played a physical game.
There’s a couple of these little things he had got his feet out of whack that he’s got to clean up, just staying honed in on the technique of it. But, that’s it, man.
Just the consistency.”
Scruggs has plenty of center experience to back up what he’s showing now. Over his first three NFL seasons, most of his snaps came at guard, but in 2024 he started eight games at center and posted a 64.5 PFF grade, which ranked 19th out of 38 qualifying centers over that stretch. He also started 13 games at center in his final season at Penn State in 2022.
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