How Did the Detroit Lions Rebuild Their Offensive Line?

The Detroit Lions’ offensive line just put together their worst season of the Jared Goff era, giving up 38 sacks, which set a new career high for sacks taken in a season for the 11-year veteran.

On top of that, defenders hit Goff 117 times, which was also a career high for Goff and ranked second amongst starting quarterbacks that season. While injuries plagued the offensive line throughout the season, it was evident that they had become the weak link on a stacked and explosive offensive roster.

Unfortunately, injuries weren’t the only issue the offensive line faced — retirements also disrupted the group’s chemistry. When four-time Pro Bowler and starting center Frank Ragnow announced his retirement in 2025, a void was immediately left, and it would not be filled easily. Some decline in pass protection felt inevitable, but falling a staggering 11 spots in the Sharp Football Analysis: NFL Offensive Line Rankings was a much larger drop than anticipated.

Fortunately, the front office has taken notice and made moves to repair the line.

Lions Filled the Center Void

On March 9, the Lions landed the Panthers’ center Cade Mays on a three-year deal worth up to $25 million. Mays served primarily as a backup center until September of last season. However, the transition to starter has gone smoothly, as Mays has not let up a single sack in his 20 career starts and over 720 career snaps. Bringing in a productive center for that price could prove to be quite the steal.

Those two statistics show that he’ll create gaps and holes for Jahmyr Gibbs in the run game too. Getting Gibbs flowing will make it easier for Goff too, since he won’t have to be dealing with so many third-and-longs. Another huge benefit from this singing is that Detroit continues to build a young offensive line core. It is no secret that younger players are going to be less prone to injury or at risk of retirement. With Mays only being 26 and only starting barely more than a season’s worth of games, he’ll arrive motivated and fresh.

Drafting Right Tackle Blake Miller

On the night of the 2026 NFL Draft, nearly every analyst predicted Detroit to select an offensive lineman. However, what varied between mock draft to mock draft was who the Lions would select. The only position that many speculated was not up for grabs was the right tackle, which Penei Sewell had held. The three time All-Pro had been consistently ranked as the top right tackle in the NFL, and ranked top 15 back-to-back years in the annual NFL Top 100.

So it came as a surprise to many when Roger Goodell announced that the Lions would select Blake Miller, a right tackle out of Clemson, with the 17th overall pick. Although he shared the same position as Sewell, his collegiate accolades almost made him impossible to pass up on. The 6-foot-6 pancake machine started 54 consecutive games as a Tiger, and even went on to break the school record for career snaps.

Miller will not only provide durability, but will bring a winning attitude back to Detroit, as he was a two-time ACC champion and three-time all ACC selection.

Penei Sewell’s Position Switch

While that might sound foolish to spend a first round pick on someone who plays the same position as an All-Pro, it was all made possible by Sewell’s ability to play left tackle. Sewell primary played left tackle during his time at Oregon. However, the Lions thought he had so much talent that they still decided to select him seventh overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. This was because he had played over 1,300 snaps, only let up one sack, and had taken home the Outland Trophy as a sophomore.

Many fans forget about the initial position switch due to Sewell’s immediate success in the NFL while playing left tackle. This position switch should come as exciting news for Lions fans, knowing that he is getting to go back to his preferred position. As their best pass protector, he’s also now protecting Goff’s blind side.

Big Bodies, Big Factor

While the offensive line was at the root of the problems that Detroit went through on offense last year, the front office clearly made it a priority to turn them back into the powerful front they were just two seasons ago. With a big three of Sewell, Mays, and Miller, it is going to be difficult to find more skilled and proven guys to lead an offensive line than the ones Detroit is rolling out.

If Detroit can restore its offensive line to the form it was in two seasons ago, the offense will return to its previous explosive state.