Lions spent two years remodeling interior o-line, but one first-round option could put makeover over the top
Allen Park — When considering how an NFL team will approach the upcoming draft, you have to look beyond the immediate roster needs. Each selection should be viewed as a four-year investment. Therefore, we must weigh the bigger picture with each possible choice.
Heading into the 2026 NFL draft, we’re going to take a position-by-position look at Detroit’s roster, focusing on areas where the team might add talent in the event. Today, we’ll look at interior offensive linemen.
Current roster: Cade Mays, Tate Ratledge, Christian Mahogany, Juice Scruggs, Ben Bartch, Miles Frazier, Michael Niese, Seth McLaughlin, Colby Sorsdal
Short-term need: 3/10
Long-term need: 7/10
Analysis: The Lions completed a two-year overhaul of the interior with the key addition of Mays in free agency. The big-framed center shores up what had been one of the biggest concerns on the roster.
That follows up the selections of Mahogany and Ratledge in the past two drafts. There’s a lot of confidence in Ratledge going forward after the 2025 second-round pick showed steady improvement during his rookie campaign.
There’s less certainty with Mahogany, a sixth-round choice in 2024. After two stellar spot starts as a rookie, and a strong training camp last offseason, he couldn’t carry over that success to the regular season.
Things were further derailed when Mahogany suffered a broken leg and he likely came back too early from the injury. In the final three games, he allowed 10 pressures and four of the six sacks he surrendered on the year.
In addition to Mays, Detroit upgraded its interior depth this offseason, picking up former second-round pick Juice Scruggs from Houston in the David Montgomery trade. The team also signed Bartch, a veteran who has made 24 career starts and logged more than 1,700 offensive snaps during his six-year career.
Of the returning pieces, Frazier carries some intrigue. He missed much of his rookie season with a knee injury, but appeared in a handful of games in the second half, while Mahogany was sidelined.
That trio is viable competition for Mahogany’s starting job, but nothing that closes the door on further bolstering the talent in the upcoming draft.
Paths in the draft
If Penn State’s Venga Ioane is still on the board when the Lions are on the clock with the No. 17 pick in the first round, general manager Brad Holmes faces a compelling decision.
Not one to be beholden to the concept of positional value, the GM could select the draft’s best guard prospect, the 320-pound mauler out of Penn State who didn’t allow a sack the past two seasons. It would be an immediate upgrade at left guard and give the Lions four big, physical, long-term pieces up front.
That decision would also signal a commitment to Larry Borom as the team’s starting right tackle, without a solution in place beyond this year.
Alternatively, the Lions could draft a lesser, but still viable challenger for Mahogany between rounds 2-4.
Focusing specifically on left guard, given Ratledge’s experience primarily being on the right side, some top names to consider would be Oregon’s Emmanuel Pregnon in the second round or Notre Dame’s Billy Schrauth early in Day 3.
The 6-foot-4, 314-pound Pregnon had a winding, six-year college journey that took him from Wyoming to USC to Oregon, where he earned first-team All-American honors.
He’s an older prospect, set to celebrate his 25th birthday during his rookie season, but he brings a wealth of experience, having started 51 games across four seasons. Additionally, he’s a high-end athlete, something the Lions have targeted in the guards they’ve drafted under Holmes.
Schrauth can’t match Pregnon’s athleticism, but the former Notre Dame standout is a physical brawler with a reputation for toughness, epitomized by playing through most of his final college game with a significant MCL injury.
He’s also had ankle and foot injuries, which could lower his stock, but Ratledge also had an extensive injury history before he was selected by the Lions last year.
Center is obviously a lesser priority with Mays in the fold and Scruggs having starting experience at the position. However, one late-round option worth considering is Kentucky’s Jager Burton.
Burton, who also played left and right guard in college, struggled mightily when he initially worked as the Wildcats’ snapper in 2023. That drove him to improve and he delivered much better results as the team’s starter in 2025.
An ascending talent, Burton is an outstanding athlete, hammering home his developable upside.
I’d much rather stand pat and see how Mahogany (or whomever wins the LG competition) plays between Penei and Mays. The job should be much easier this year than it was last year between an injured Decker and the ghost of Glasgow.
I think what I like so much about Iaone is the “idea” of him, based on what I’ve read and heard (especially from you and Colton, Justin) more so than what I actually know or have seen. The “idea” that the Lions “could” have another All-Pro caliber player on the most important unit on the team and, perhaps, be even better than the excellent unit that included Decker and Ragnow and Sewell put over the top when he was selected. Freeling or Miller may be more logical choices, but is Mahogany a better LG than Borom is a RT? Neither of them woulda started for the Lions in ‘22, ‘23 or ‘24. All the descriptions and assessments I’ve heard and read about Iaone suggest he probably WOULD HAVE!