The Detroit Lions’ offensive line is seen as one of, if not the best collective units in the entire NFL.

With center Frank Ragnow serving as the anchor and plenty of talent along the starting five, Detroit has been able to excel on the ground thanks to the maulers who pave the run lanes. Another key component is All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell, who inked a four-year extension this offseason.

The Lions also added a piece to the fold in the form of veteran Kevin Zeitler, who comes to Detroit for his 13th NFL season. One of the league’s most durable linemen over the course of his career, Zeitler brings veteran experience and knowledge having played across a number of schemes.

Here’s a preview of what the Lions have to offer on the offensive line with training camp fast approaching.

Reason for hope

The Lions’ offensive line, when fully healthy, is as good as any other in the league. Sewell emerged as one of the top right tackles in the game, while Taylor Decker has been steady on the left side. With two strong bookend tackles, Detroit has been able to keep Jared Goff healthy for the duration of the last two years.

The interior is just as strong. Ragnow may be the best center in the league with Jason Kelce’s retirement, while the guard tandem of Graham Glasgow and Kevin Zeitler giving the team two reliable pieces.

Glasgow was a pleasant surprise last year and earned a three-year extension to remain with the team, while Zeitler fills the void left by Jonah Jackson’s departure. If the group can remain healthy, Detroit’s offense will once again reap the benefits.

Reason for worry

Health will always be a concern with the nature of offensive line play. Taylor Decker and Frank Ragnow both missed time last year, but the unit was as healthy as its been over Dan Campbell’s tenure as head coach.

The Lions will have to have reliable depth ready to go in the case of an injury. Colby Sorsdal was up-and-down in his rookie year last year, as he was eventually beat out as the top backup by Kayode Awosika.

Those two, along with Dan Skipper and rookies Giovanni Manu and Christian Mahogany, will have opportunities to showcase their ability as backup options. Finding reliable options who can step in in a pinch is paramount for the Lions to remain playing at a high level.

Training camp battle

With the starting five positions seemingly set ahead of camp, extra attention will be paid to the backup battles. Sorsdal and Awosika seem likely to compete at guard along with Mahogany. Still, Sorsdal spent some time at tackle in minicamp and OTAs and appears to be a player the Lions want to utilize in either area.

If Sorsdal can develop into a utility lineman, he would give the team immense value as a first option off the bench. Awosika was the option to start the NFC Championship game after Jackson suffered an injury and won’t go away quietly.

Player to watch

Manu will be a player worth keeping tabs on when training camp opens. The consensus opinion is that he can grow into a high-level player with development based on his athletic profile. Still, he will need plenty of time to adjust after playing collegiately in Canada.

With the Lions often electing to rest their starters for preseason games, Manu should get some extended playing time in Detroit’s three matchups. How he holds up will be fascinating to monitor, as the Lions could wind up landing a massive steal if he eventually reaches his potential.

ESPN is continuing their lists of the top-10 players at each position, as voted on by NFL executives coaches, and scouts. On Monday, they dropped the quarterback list, and it features Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff cracking the top-10 list for the first time since its inception in 2020. He placed ninth on the list this year, ahead of some notable quarterbacks like Dak Prescott (10th), Brock Purdy (not ranked), Jordan Love (NR), Jalen Hurts (NR), Trevor Lawrence (NR), and Kirk Cousins (NR).

Not only had Goff never made the list before, but he was only an honorable mention a single time in the previous four years—last year. Here’s what ESPN author Jeremy Fowler wrote in 2023:

“Goff rarely got a single vote over the past three seasons, but this year he appeared on nearly 25% of the ballots after leading Detroit to nine wins, thanks in part to a 29-7 touchdown-interception ratio.”

After helping the Lions to get to the NFC Championship last year, the narrative on Goff has completely shifted. But even more telling than Goff’s ninth overall ranking is the specific praise he got from NFL insiders. This isn’t just about him now being “a winner,” or game-managing an offense led by coordinator Ben Johnson. Goff is getting real, tangible praise for specific traits that often go underappreciated.

“He’s the best in the NFL at throwing into zone coverage windows,” an anonymous NFL coordinator told ESPN. “I’ve shown young quarterbacks tape of him and how he throws with anticipation.”

“He used to seem nervous in the pocket, but now he’s cool in there,” an NFC executive said. “I don’t think he has that pressure on him like he did in L.A. Detroit has embraced him and he’s responded.”

Last year, Goff finished second in passing yards (4,575), fourth in passing touchdowns (30), ninth in passer rating (97.9), and 11th in QBR. If you back up the stats to when Detroit started to turn things around—circa Thanksgiving in 2021—Goff’s statistical output has been as good as anybody’s.

It’s good to see that public perception is finally catching up with reality, and people who know ball see both how good Goff is and how much he has improved since landing with the Lions in 2021.

With the 72nd pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, the Detroit Tigers have selected pitcher Ethan Schiefelbein.

With an unusual amount of current polish for a high schooler, Schiefelbein isn’t what you might expect from an early round prep pitcher. He’s a lefty from Corona High School in California, a not insignificant baseball school on the prep scene, and has a college commitment to play at UCLA. His reputation is built on the fact that he has a remarkably smooth pitching motion for someone so young, advanced control, and a track record of good performance on the showcase circuit.

With a portfolio that’s meant to be greater than the sum of its parts, none of Schiefelbein’s individual traits stand out on their own. His fastball sits in the 89-92 mile per hour range with the ability to reach 95 on occasion. There isn’t the expectation that he will become a pinpoint wizard, but he exhibits a better understanding of how to get strikes with his low-powered heater than most his age and the Tigers will expect to build him up to that top line velocity consistently in time.

All the public draft boards give roughly average grades to his other pitches, with the expectation that he’ll be able to work them into a consistent game plan even if they never overpower the opposition. Baseball America and FanGraphs give his knuckle-curve an above average projection, betting on its ability to pair with the fastball. MLB Pipeline has a preference for his slider instead. Either way, the idea is that he’ll build up to using his out pitch by keeping away from hitter’s barrels rather than blowing them away with eye-popping stuff.

You’ve seen this style of pitcher before. Not to demean what he does well, but he’s cut from the same cloth as a hundred guys who have been given the “crafty lefty” label. The edge he has over others in a similar vein is that, given his youth and the Tigers’ ability to help pitchers perfect their fastball, Schiefelbein may be able to tap into the higher end of his velocity band more consistently. If that happens, and he doesn’t sacrifice his ability to spot the pitch in the process, he may come out the other side with more of a mid-rotation look.

In their pre-draft analysis of Schiefelbein, Baseball America noted that some teams would have liked to see him get to UCLA and reevaluate his progress in a couple years. There’s no questioning his feel to pitch, but everything depends on his projection from here. That is a risky proposition, even if he has the know-how and some notable peripheral fastball metrics.

This isn’t the most exciting pick, but the Tigers know pitching. They clearly think they can make Schiefelbein pop, and my interest is piqued to see how they do it.

Detroit has now selected three consecutive high schoolers to start their 2024 draft class. While most of the conversation will naturally focus on what will happen with Bryce Rainer, their first round pick, it’s worth commenting that, on a broader level, Scott Harris and his team are positioning themselves among the boldest drafters out there. No team drafts players within the top ten rounds unless they have a measure of confidence a deal can be reached. Mark Conner, one of Harris’ top lieutenants, had a hand in San Diego’s similar draft strategy in the late 2010s.

They generally made it work, just as the Tigers did last year despite a couple of prep players deciding to go to college instead. Prioritizing the most talented players in the first few rounds and locking them down is a costly business, but when teams draft this way, they worry about making the money work for the middle and late rounds after the draft. Nevertheless, it’s tough to see how Detroit is gonna seal the deal without effectively burning a few picks to save money along the way. That’s a defensible tradeoff they seem very willing to make.

Follow along with our Day 2 coverage here at Bless You Boys, as the draft starts back up again at 2:00 p.m. ET with the first pick of round three.