Detroit Lions film review: Detailed thoughts on the starting o-line from preseason opener
Cincinnati — Your eyes can be drawn a million different directions during the preseason, while the bottom two-thirds of the roster scrap for jobs and roles. However, given the Detroit Lions’ effort to upgrade their offensive line this winter, that’s where we’ll center our first tape study of the 2026 season.
The Lions struggled to put points on the board in the opening contest, but the team had the ball in Bengals territory half of their dozen possessions. That suggests a higher level of success than the final score might suggest.
The Bengals played most of their starters. The Lions did not. Among those taking a seat were All-Pro left tackle Penei Sewell and second-year guard Tate Ratledge. Additionally, starting center Cade Mays is out the next several weeks with a wrist injury and backup Juice Scruggs is battling a shorter-term soft-tissue concern.
Still, there was plenty to observe with the starting five up front, headlined by first-round pick Blake Miller, the team’s projected Week 1 starter at right tackle.
He was joined by Larry Borom on the blindside, 2025 fifth-round pick Miles Frazier at right guard, last year’s starter Christian Mahogany at left guard and Seth McLaughlin, the 2024 Rimington Award winner as college football’s best center, handling the snapping duties.
That’s not a group that had meaningfully practiced together, so chemistry was predictably underdeveloped. Regardless, here’s what we saw with the individual performances, going right to left across the line.
Miller
It was a mixed bag for the rookie, but more good than bad in the debut.
On the opening drive, he set a good tone early with a strong punch and latch against edge defender Myles Murphy, maintaining a wide pocket for quarterback Luke Altmyer to convert a third down with an 8-yard swing pass to running back Jacob Saylors.