The Lions’ offensive line regressed in a big way in 2025, and the club made multiple changes to that group this offseason. Detroit moved Penei Sewell from right tackle to left tackle to replace the released Taylor Decker, selected Blake Miller in the first round of the draft with an eye on his becoming Sewell’s immediate successor at RT, and signed Cade Mays in free agency to man the pivot.
2025 second-rounder Tate Ratledge impressed as a rookie, and since the Lions signed Mays, Ratledge will remain at right guard instead of moving to center. In theory, Miller still has to earn his spot as the starting right tackle, as free agent addition Larry Borom could delay the rookie’s rise to the first-team unit. But Albert Breer of SI.com says Miller has displayed the “maturity and know-how” expected of a four-year collegiate starter and is the heavy favorite to win the job.
As such, the starting left guard post is the only one along Detroit’s front that appears truly unsettled. Per Breer, the competition is “wide open” and includes Christian Mahogany, free agent signee Ben Bartch, 2025 fifth-rounder Miles Frazier, and trade acquisition Juice Scruggs (who joined the Lions in the swap that sent RB David Montgomery to the Texans).
That echoes (to an extent) a May report in which Mahogany was said to be the favorite for starting LG duties but would have to fend off Bartch and Frazier. In a recap of a training camp session at the end of July, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press noted that Mahogany and Scruggs had split first-team reps at left guard and acquitted themselves well. Though he acknowledged nothing is set in stone, Birkett predicted Mahogany will be in the starting lineup in Week 1, that Bartch will be his backup, and that Scruggs will open the season as the second-string center behind Mays. Birkett did not mention Frazier in his report.
After appearing in just seven games (one start) as a rookie in 2024, Mahogany became the team’s full-time starter at left guard in 2025. Unfortunately, he was limited to just 11 contests due to a fractured fibula, and even when healthy, he did not impress. Pro Football Focus ranked his performance 47th among 79 guards, and his pass-blocking grade of 40.7 was the sixth-worst at his position. Still, it sounds as if his familiarity with the system and the possibility of further improvement will earn him another shot as a starter.
In other Lions OL news, Colton Pouncy of The Athletic says depth blocker Giovanni Manu will miss 12-14 weeks due to an unspecified injury that arose on the first day of training camp. Detroit added Manu in the fourth round of the 2024 draft as a raw but promising prospect out of the University of British Columbia. He did not see any action in his first professional season and made his first career start in place of an injured Decker in Week 5 of the 2025 slate. A knee injury ended his season shortly thereafter, and he is currently on the active/NFI list.
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