Allen Park — Welcome back for Round 2 of this week’s Detroit Lions mailbag. If you missed the first batch of questions, you can double back here.
We went a little deeper with the second wave. Hope you don’t mind.
Q: Brad Holmes and Ray Agnew said that there are still ongoing competitions. I imagine one spot is left guard. Are there any more positions up for grabs? And when do we foresee those battles ending? — Chris Knight
Justin: Competition for playing time should never end. Obviously, no one is unseating Jared Goff, Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown, etc… but that’s only because you can trust their talent and work ethic to fend off any hint of a challenge.
Regarding ongoing battles, I’m not sure how many other starting jobs are up for grabs. But if there’s another obvious one beyond left guard, it’s the nickel corner.
However there are backup spots with meaningful reps that could continue to evolve as the season progresses. That includes the LB3, RB2, TE2 and WR4, where Tay Martin won the job but certainly doesn’t have it locked down for the next three months.
I’m also not sure we can definitively say how the depth chart stacks up in the secondary or along the defensive line, including CB3. I thought that was tracking toward being Nick Whiteside’s role, but he got cut on Sunday. Podcast partner Will Burchfield still thinks it might be Whiteside, who is back on the practice squad, but I don’t think a team risks their top backup to waivers.
Q: Do you ever see Brad Holmes deciding to add a Pro Bowl-level or better player via free agency or trade, or will it never happen based on the amount of core players we re-sign? — PengShei
Justin: The proven path to long-term, sustainable success in the NFL is draft, develop and retain. Free agency and trades are best when they aren’t the heart of your roster-building strategy, but supplementing it.
And it’s not like Holmes hasn’t taken some swings in free agency and the trade market to get meaningful help. David Montgomery, DJ Reader, Carlton Davis, Za’Darius Smith and Cade Mays might not have been Pro Bowl talent, per se, but those were high-end starters.
Ultimately, under Holmes, the Lions are going to focus on drafting well and retaining their own. And with the caliber of players the Lions have had to re-sign in recent years, with multiple Pro Bowlers and a few All-Pros, it has limited their budget to spend on the open market.
That setup result in some boring offseasons, but you’d rather have five more seasons of Aidan Hutchinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Penei Sewell and Amon-Ra St. Brown than overpaying for the best free-agency typically has to offer.
That said, if Holmes remains in his role for several more years, and that group of stars I mention inch closer to exiting their prime, there might be increased urgency to capitalize on a shrinking championship window, leading to a bigger trade splash that we’ve seen from teams like the Eagles and Rams.
It’s difficult to project that far ahead in the NFL, but that’s how I could see Holmes’ philosophy shifting down the road.
Q: I remember when the Lions first hired Dan Campbell, many folks claimed his coaching style would grow stale quickly. My impression is the exact opposite has happened. What makes Campbell one of the few head coaches with staying power and an enduring ability to reach players? — Josh
Justin: Well, first and foremost, his staying power is judged by on-field results. If the team was winning five games per season, he’d be gone.
Campbell’s ability to maintain a strong connection with the roster comes from his genuine enthusiasm and love for his players. He wears his heart on his sleeve, is honest, patient and compassionate.
I don’t care what line of work you’re in, if you’re boss treats you the way Campbell treats his job and his employees, you want to work hard for that person.
Q: If the team goes another year with an unusually high number of long-term injury concerns would the team be better served reviewing their strength and conditioning staff, reviewing standards with teams that are consistently low on the injury front, or would they be better served reviewing their personnel decisions on oft-injured players at discounted rates? — Zakk Schaaf
Justin: I assure you, the Lions annually dive deep into all of these topics because it’s a multi-billion-dollar industry and injuries impact success and revenue.
The Lions have invested a lot into their medical and training staff, including on-site amenities available to players, since the arrival of Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell. I’ve talked to players who have come in from other franchises, and players with chronic issues that experienced different medical staffs in Detroit, and they uniformly rave about director of player health Brett Fisher and head athletic trainer Mike Sundeen.
At some level injury rates are going to be about luck. People love to point out linebacker Fred Warner’s comments to Amon-Ra St. Brown about how wild it is that the Lions occasionally live tackle in practice, but the irony is Warner’s 49ers have had more injury issues than the Lions in recent years.
I combed through the tape of Detroit’s 2024 and 2025 injuries and struggled to identify any patterns with the type of injuries, nor were there an excessive number of the more devastating season-enders like ACLs or Achilles tears.
There is definitely value in weighing a player’s injury history prior to signing or drafting them, but it’s naive to think every player at a contact position doesn’t have an injury history. I can only imagine what the medical imaging prospects go through at the combine reveals that is never made publicly available.
It’s a violent sport. It’s finely-tuned, 250-300 pounders colliding at full speed over and over and over again after pushing their bodies to the max to be the fastest and strongest possible every offseason. Sometimes, none of it matters if you take one bad step or awkward hit, like Hutchinson snapping his leg or Brian Branch landing on an opponent’s foot, stretching his Achilles too far.
It doesn’t mean you ever stop evaluating your processes, but there is no magic cure. Remove all contact from practice and your body isn’t conditioned for it on game day, resulting in not only the increase risk of injury, but a breakdown of your fundamentals, particularly tackling.
Q: Should media ask tough questions regardless of how they may impact relationships the person may have with the team or personnel? — @nikesignedme
Justin: This is a very simple answer and there should be no ambiguity: Yes, credentialed media should ask tough questions with no restrictions, regardless of how that might impact professional relationships. Doing anything other than that is a disservice to the public, or in the case of sports media, the fan base, which is who journalists serve.
Within that, it’s important to be thoughtful with how you ask the questions to best generate a response. Be concise and direct, but never get personal or accusatory. The goal of any line of questioning should be about garnering information that satisfactorily answers the query. If a question feels like an attack, the subject is going to get defensive or shut down.
Additionally, you have to make sure you’re listening to and processing responses for potential follow-up questions, designed to gain clarity or additional information.
Q: Does Christian Mahogany or Ben Bartch end the year with more starting snaps at left guard? — Jack Krumm
Justin: The safe answer is Mahogany because he’s presumably opening the season as the starter. That said, there was a specific aim to bring in competition for his job after a disappointing season, made worse by some concerns about his conditioning this offseason.
Bartch is a more than capable starting solution if the Lions want to make the switch, but, at this point, Mahogany will have to give them a reason.
I still like Mahogany’s upside. I appreciate his violent playing style, but he does have a handful of rough reps each game that are concerning, particularly in pass protection. Consistency is key in the NFL and he’s going to need to prove he’s made a leap in that department entering Year 3.
Q: I know improving the o-line was of major importance this offseason. As we go into Week 1, is it really any better? — Dean Pippio
Justin: Week 1 doesn’t matter. Well, it does, but not for the purpose of this question. What you should be asking is will this offensive line be better down the stretch run into the playoffs and in 2027 and beyond? That answer should decidedly be yes.
Penei Sewell is going to be a stud, regardless of what side he plays on. Cade Mays, when recovered from his wrist injury, should be a clear upgrade to Graham Glasgow, who has limped across finish line the past couple of season. Tate Ratledge will undoubtedly be better than he was a year ago. So should Mahogany, especially after having time to recover from his broken leg. And if he’s not, Bartch will be better than a hobbled 2025 Mahogany.
The spot that will need the most polish is going from Taylor Decker to Blake Miller. Decker, even at 80-85% at the end of his time in Detroit, was solid. The run blocking had dipped to average, but he could still keep the heat off Jared Goff.
I think there’s a good chance Miller struggles out the gate, but by the end of the year? He proved throughout his college career that he’s capable of adapting, adjusting and improving. I anticipate we’ll see steady growth that mirrors Ratledge from a year ago.
So, yes, by Week 10 and beyond, I expect this offensive line will be better than last year’s version with so much more room for continued growth, based on age and experience of the collective. Plus, there’s better depth to weather storms.
Q: Do you remember Jackson Meeks repping with Jared Goff at all during camp? Feels like he could’ve survived on the practice squad. — @Kara313rd
Justin: Yeah, there were times when Meeks took first-team reps during camp. And while I don’t disagree with you that there’s a chance Meeks could have made it through waivers to the practice squad, the Lions are still an organization that values rewarding grit, effort and hard work.
Meeks was the poster child for that this offseason. He transitioned from a diva position to a grittier one without complaint. He put on a lot of good weight and embraced the coaching points at a new position. And, on top of it all, he produced, both on the practice field and during the preseason.
That preseason production was arguably the biggest reason not to waive him. If it mostly happened on the practice field, other teams wouldn’t have film to study. Catching balls and showing growth as a blocker and special teams contributor in games? Everyone can see that.
He was rewarded for the work he put into the change. His upside is a bonus.
Also, it’s probably worth noting, three tight ends were traded on cutdown day. There was clearly a demand for talent at the position, especially with an uptick in usage of heavu packages across the league in 2025.
Q: We know that coaches put in very long hours. With some of the members of the coaching staff having children who play high school football, does Campbell do anything to make sure the coach is able to attend those games? — Drew Augustine
Justin: A few years ago, when writing a feature on Lions scout Patrick Mularkey, I talked to his dad, former NFL coach Mike Mularkey. He said in all his years of coaching, he emphasized being home for dinner on Thursday night, to spend that valuable time with his family.
The elder Mularkey explained that there was only so much you could do to prepare for an opponent and if you were still burning the midnight oil late in the week, especially as a position coach, you needed to question your process and efficiency.
The Lions and Campbell value hard work, but also family. I don’t know if the coach does anything to ensure his assistants are out the door at a specific time to be with family on a given night, but I’m certain he would do everything he could to make it possible if it was brought to his attention. At some level, it’s also up to the individual coaches to prioritize their work/life balance.
I should note there are plenty of times when I’m leaving the facility on a Friday, typically between 4-6 p.m., and there are assistant coaches leaving the parking lot at the same time.
Q: I’m really interested on your thoughts on offensive scheme, changes and expectations for the year based on what you’ve seen from Drew Petzing’s scheme in training camp. — CD
Justin: First of all, schemes are intentionally vanilla during camp, when the roster is at 90 and fans and media have access to full practices. The work is far more about the fundamentals.
However, even when it’s fully unveiled, I don’t expect it to look much different to untrained eyes week to week. The biggest differences will be more nuanced things happening behind the scenes, starting with communication between the coordinator and his assistants, as well as the players.
A good coordinator is a strong communicator, has a good feel for game flow and situational play-calling, can make meaningful adjustments on the fly, and puts players into position to maximize their best traits, with bonus points for taking player input into account.
Petzing is smart. There’s no question about that. And, by all accounts, communication across the board has improved significantly since he’s taken over the offense.
In terms of play-calling, I liked what I saw when I did a deep dive study on the Cardinals this offseason. I think he put personnel in good spots to win, despite massive talent constraints in Arizona. And I particularly liked the versatility of the run game to match personnel and the variety of different looks he presented defenses with star tight end Trey McBride, which prevented opponents from locking him down.
Q: When a player like Greg Dortch gets signed by the Bills, who the Lions play in their second game, how much information can he provide that they will strategically use? — Dylan P.
Justin: If a player is only with a team for a single offseason, particularly with a first-year coordinator, there’s very little they’ll be able to share that will have an impact on game planning.
It’s different if a team plucks a practice squad player in Week 14, especially at a premium spot like quarterback or middle linebacker. At that point, you’re going to need to change some things up, including verbiage.
Q: Erick Hunter made the Patriots’ 53. Do you think he stays there or is there a realistic shot he gets pushed back to their practice squad and potentially ends back with Detroit? Any historical examples of a team getting a waived rookie back after another team places them on their 53? — Xavier
Justin: Anything is possible at the back of rosters. The Lions thought highly of Hunter, but Jimmy Rolder being able to avoid injured reserve was likely the key factor that pushed the undrafted rookie off the roster, where he quickly found a new home in New England.
Still, there’s nothing that guarantee he sticks all season, and if he’s ever let go, there’s always a chance he lands back on Detroit, depending on the team’s roster needs at the time.
There are probably dozens, if not hundreds of examples across the league of things playing out like this over the decades. One quick example with Detroit would be Trevor Nowaske, who was waived early during his rookie season, claimed by Arizona, but returned to Detroit — as a waiver claim — the following offseason.
Q: What’s your take on Seth McLaughlin getting waived? Current depth at Center is a concern. — Andy
Justin: I wasn’t shocked because I left McLaughlin off the roster in my final projection. A backup center is a short-term need and I think his up-and-down preseason made it so he could be brought back on the practice squad to continue his development and serve as a game-day elevation.
Obviously, there’s an unknown risk whenever you waive a player, but when only 29 of several hundred waived talents get claimed after cutdown day, it’s an acceptable risk.
McLaughlin cleared waivers on Thursday. I would think he gets offered a spot on the practice squad, but we’ll see.
Q: Which linebacker has looked the best in coverage and how big of a vulnerability might this be if the Lions start the year playing in base defense more often given Izien’s injury? — Zach Meyers
Justin: Malcom Rodriguez, Derrick Barnes and Jack Campbell have all had moments in camp, but I wouldn’t classify any of them as above-average options in this facet of the game.
However, something I’ve come to recognize is good coverage linebackers in the NFL are unicorns. If your team has one, they’re blessed. It’s probably a contributing reason so many teams are more reliant on nickel defensive packages, especially if you can shoehorn a hybrid defender like Seattle’s Nick Emmanwori into the role, reducing what you’re sacrificing in run support.
Covering tight ends and slot receivers could be problematic for the Lions when Izien is out of the lineup, and maybe even if he’s healthy. His coverage numbers across his career aren’t that great.
It’s all the more reason to hope Abney develops quickly. We already know he’s a good tackler and has strong downhill anticipation. He just has to stop being so grabby at the top of routes.
Q: How much was the decision to get smaller/quicker on the d-line, emphasizing the pass rush, influenced by our secondary situation? — Matt Poleske
Justin: I would suggest the emphasis was entirely independent of the back end. Last year, the Lions were near the top of the league in average separation allowed. How much better do the numbers look if the opposing quarterback is pressured more quickly and more often, potentially affecting his accuracy.
Ultimately, the Lions didn’t necessarily get smaller with their starting group up front. In fact, they’re arguably bigger when Tyler Lacy is out there as the closed end.
It’s the sub-package rush, with Derrick Moore and Skyler Gill-Howard, where there’s a little more juice. This team isn’t sacrificing stopping the run. That’s still a focus to create favorable down-and-distances to unleash the rush. After being awful on third-and-long situations last year, the new pieces should help.
Dude, you long did you take to compile and write this? Excellent writing and thoughtful answers. You rock!
Great stuff JR. Love getting your thoughts on these questions. I’m loving the youth movement on the offensive and defensive lines. I am so glad we are not asking any questions about who the starting QB should be. Looking forward to this year!