The Lions don’t get a warm-up to open this season. They get the Saints, and they get a handful of players whose first game will say a lot about where Detroit really stands.
That’s the reality in Week 1 for a team that spent the offseason hearing plenty about “Super Bowl windows” and plenty more about whether last year’s playoff miss was the start of something uglier. Detroit still has a roster with real talent at the top, but there are also plenty of spots where the margin for error is thin. In some cases, very thin.
D.J. Reed is one of them.
The conversation around Detroit’s cornerback room has centered on the No. 2 spot after the Terrion Arnold release, but Reed’s status matters just as much. He flashed like a true No. 1 corner early last season, allowing just a 61.3 passer rating and zero touchdowns when targeted over his first four games.
Then the hamstring injury hit, he missed six games, and the version that came back wasn’t the same player. Over the rest of the year, he allowed an 88.0 passer rating and never quite looked like the guy Detroit saw in September.
Reed reportedly went to Panama for stem-cell treatment this offseason and said his burst has returned. The Lions need that to be true.
The same goes for Christian Mahogany, who had to win his starting job back after a rough 2025. He was a problem in pass protection and finished as Pro Football Focus’ 77th-ranked pass protector out of 81 guards.
Detroit brought in Ben Bartch and Juice Scruggs, and Miles Frazier also pushed for the job, but Mahogany held onto his spot and is reportedly set to start in Week 1. That doesn’t mean the pressure is off.
It means the pressure starts immediately. He’ll line up next to newly-flipped left tackle Penei Sewell, which should help, but Mahogany needs a real turnaround after being part of last year’s offensive line mess.
Detroit is also counting on DJ Wonnum to give the edge rush some bite. He came in on a one-year, $3 million deal and is part of the replacement plan for the departed Al-Quadin Muhammad and Marcus Davenport opposite Aidan Hutchinson.
At 6-foot-5 and 262 pounds, he’s supposed to be the guy who makes teams pay when they slide protection toward Hutchinson. Wonnum has done it before, including two eight-sack seasons in 2021 and 2023 while playing across from Danielle Hunter in Minnesota.
But there’s skepticism too, the usual kind that follows a low-cost signing. The Lions have Derrick Moore waiting as well, so if Wonnum doesn’t matter off the edge, that defensive front loses some of its appeal.
Inside on offense, Juice Scruggs has a major job in front of him. Detroit was forced into a line shuffle after Frank Ragnow’s June retirement, moved Graham Glasgow to center, and the results were poor.
The Lions tried to address it by signing Cade Mays, but he’s out until October with a wrist injury, which pushes Scruggs into the starting role for now. He doesn’t need to be Ragnow, and he doesn’t need to be Mays.
He just needs to be a real upgrade over Glasgow. That matters because Jared Goff is especially vulnerable to pressure from the middle, and Detroit needs cleaner pockets and a more stable run game than it had a year ago.
Scruggs has started 20 NFL games, including eight at center, and Week 1 will be the first test of whether he can help the offense stay afloat until Mays is back.
Then there’s the secondary, where Chuck Clark stands as the veteran face of a group that looks awfully old on paper. You could make the case for Avonte Maddox, Christian Izien or Rock Ya-Sin here, too, and Reed already belongs in the conversation.
The bigger picture is hard to ignore: the Lions are set to become the first defense since the 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers to start four defensive backs aged 29 or older in Week 1. Clark, at 31, is the oldest of the bunch, and he’s drawn praise this summer for his communication and leadership.
That will have to carry real weight, because Detroit already had trouble giving up explosive plays and that issue looks primed to stick around. Until Brian Branch and possibly Kerby Joseph are back, Clark and the rest of the veteran group will be tasked with keeping the damage from getting out of hand.
In Other News...
Lions Linked To An Aggressive Move That Would Change This Secondary
A possible cornerback shakeup is starting to hover around Detroit after a Bleacher Report analyst floated a trade idea that would send Joey Porter Jr. from Pittsburgh to the Lions. It is the kind of aggressive swing that naturally gets attention because Detroit has a clear need in the secondary after a recent roster change, and Porter would immediately become one of the most intriguing answers on the board.
The sticking point is not hard to see. The Steelers have not put a formal contract extension offer in front of Porter, and he is considering sitting out the season, which adds another layer of uncertainty to any deal. For the Lions, a move like this would almost certainly come with the added requirement of a major extension, so the fit is there in theory, but the cost could be what ultimately keeps the idea in the rumor stage. [Read more 🡒]
Two Lions Preseason Risers Are Suddenly Worth Watching In 2026
Ahmed Hassanein and Jacob Saylors spent the preseason turning practice-field momentum into something worth tracking beyond August. Hassanein, coming back from injury and adjusting to a new position, flashed enough as a pass-rusher to make his name part of the conversation around the Lions next wave of young talent, while Saylors made a case for a larger place in the offense and special teams as a backup running back and kick returner.
For a Detroit roster that is always balancing immediate expectations with long-term depth, both players now look like more than camp stories. Hassaneins development at a spot where upside matters, and Saylors opportunity after a teammates injury, give the Lions a pair of intriguing 2026 breakout candidates to keep in view as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Face Two Roster Decisions That Could Matter Right Away
The Lions are staring at a pair of immediate roster openings after recent waivers, and the timing matters with the regular season opener approaching. In situations like this, the first moves often say plenty about how a coaching staff wants to balance health, depth and special teams value before Week 1.
Detroit has some familiar practice-squad options to consider, headlined by Kalif Raymond, whose experience as a receiver and return specialist gives him a clear case for promotion. The other names in the mix are an interior lineman who has shown versatility and a cornerback with special teams potential, and the teams choices will be shaped by the injuries and depth concerns they need to cover right away. [Read more 🡒]