A year removed from a 15-2 season, the Detroit Lions finished 2025 with a 9-8 record but were the last-place team in a ridiculously competitive NFC North. With talented playmakers on both sides of the ball, the expectation will be that they can return to the playoffs this year.
Here is our 2026 preview for the Detroit Lions.
Key Free Agency/Trade Additions
Position Player 2025 PFF Grade C Cade Mays 61 RB Isiah Pacheco 58.6 OL Juice Scruggs 45 CB Roger McCreary 72.1 WR Greg Dortch 62.3 TE Tyler Conklin 43.3 EDGE D.J. Wonnum 56.4 WR Cedrick Wilson 58.6The Lions used free agency to bolster an offensive line that has undergone significant changes over the past two offseasons, with Cade Mays expected to step in as the starting center. Mays has been a solid contributor throughout his four-year NFL career, though last season marked the first time he played more than 500 snaps in a single season. Pass protection has been his biggest strength, and he has not allowed a sack since the 2023 season. The trade for Juice Scruggs also gives the former Houston Texan a fresh start. The 2023 second-round pick earned a 45.0 PFF grade across 351 snaps last season but showed more promise in 2024, posting a 63.5 PFF grade.
Roger McCreary impressed in a limited role for the Los Angeles Rams following a midseason trade from the Tennessee Titans, allowing just four receptions on 62 coverage snaps after the deal. He has earned PFF coverage grades above 70.0 in two of his four NFL seasons and now has the opportunity to position himself for a lucrative contract if he performs well on a one-year deal in Detroit.
2026 NFL Draft Class
Position Player 2025 PFF Grade OT Blake Miller 78.5 EDGE Derrick Moore 89.9 LB Jimmy Rolder 72.2 CB Keith Abney II 86.3 WR Kendrick Law 71.6 DI Skyler Gill-Howard 88.6 DL Tyre West 63.5Drafting Blake Miller with their first pick means former first-round selection Penei Sewell will move to left tackle to replace Taylor Decker. Miller is an outstanding athlete who earned PFF grades above 70.0 while logging more than 850 snaps in each of his four seasons at Clemson. He is coming off a season in which he allowed just 14 pressures on 529 pass-blocking snaps and has all the tools to develop into a high-end NFL tackle.
With D.J. Wonnum representing the Lions' most notable addition at edge defender in free agency, there is a clear path to early playing time for second-round pick Derrick Moore. He is coming off the best pass-rushing season of his career at Michigan, generating 41 total pressures — including 20 sacks and quarterback hits — while earning a 92.4 PFF pass-rush grade in 2025.
Reasons for optimism
The Lions have one of the league's best collections of skill-position talent, led by wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, who both ranked among the NFL's top eight in receiving yards last season. At tight end, Sam LaPorta ranked fifth with a 2.00 yards-per-route-run average before an injury cut his season short.
In the running game, Jahmyr Gibbs tied for third with 62 missed tackles forced during the regular season, despite the two players ahead of him logging at least 44 more carries. With David Montgomery traded to the Texans, Gibbs has a realistic chance to handle a 300-carry workload in 2026.
Defensively, the Lions are anchored by one of the NFL's premier edge defenders in Aidan Hutchinson. The second overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft has earned PFF pass-rush grades above 90.0 in each of the past three seasons. He generated 101 and 100 total pressures in 2023 and 2025, respectively, and was on pace for 153 during the 2024 regular season before suffering a serious leg injury. Entering 2026 fully healthy, Hutchinson has the potential to challenge the PFF single-season record for total pressures.
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The Lions finished the 2025 season with PFF's 12th-ranked offensive line, but there are question marks or inexperience at every position entering 2026. Sewell is coming off a career-best 95.1 PFF grade, though his elite production has historically been driven more by his run blocking than his pass protection. While he has never earned a PFF pass-blocking grade below 69.4 and is coming off a career high in that facet as well, his transition to left tackle will be worth monitoring.
Mays projects as a solid option at center but, as noted earlier, has just one season with more than 500 snaps. At left guard, Christian Mahogany earned a 40.7 PFF pass-blocking grade last season. Tate Ratledge impressed as a rookie, posting a 70.3 PFF grade at right guard, but he will line up next to rookie Blake Miller in 2026 after spending last season alongside Sewell.
Breakout Candidate
Isaac TeSlaa flashed impressive ball skills as a rookie, with five of his 16 receptions in 2025 coming on contested catches. He also did not drop a single catchable target, and with Kalif Raymond no longer on the roster, there is a clear path for him to emerge as the No. 3 wide receiver in the offense.
Key roster battles
With the release of former first-round pick Terrion Arnold, there is an opening opposite D.J. Reed in the Lions' starting secondary. Rock Ya-Sin appears to be the favorite to claim the job and may have started over Arnold regardless, given Arnold's early-career struggles. Ya-Sin is coming off a season in which he allowed just 27 receptions on 382 coverage snaps.
Ennis Rakestraw Jr. has played just 46 regular-season snaps after an injury-hit start to his NFL career, earning a 42.8 PFF grade over that span. The Lions also added Keith Abney II in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. The former Arizona State standout is coming off a career-high 85.3 PFF coverage grade in his final collegiate season, though Detroit may view him as a better fit in the slot.