Taylor Decker requesting his release threw a small wrench into the Lions’ offseason. It was already a critical offseason after Detroit missed the playoffs in 2025, but there was suddenly a huge hole at left tackle, adding to the overall protection issues. The Lions were 31st in pass block win rate last season at 55.5%. As the team sorted through fixes, coach Dan Campbell floated the idea of Penei Sewell sliding over from the right side, but that would still leave one of the tackle spots wide open and would be taking Sewell away from his more natural, dominant position.
It seems Detroit is sticking to that, using the first-round pick on Blake Miller, a 54-game starter at right tackle in college. It’s tough to beat Miller, no matter the pass-rush move. His pressure allowed rate improved every single season, from 4.0% as a rookie to 1.8% last season. That’s key for the Lions; Jared Goff has real problems when he’s seeing constant pressure. And Miller should become Jahmyr Gibbs’ new best friend in the run game — he can get downfield to spring breakaway runs for his backs.
The other big area of need was the No. 2 edge rusher hole opposite Aidan Hutchinson. This might sound familiar — along with most analysts, I wanted the Lions to address this last year, too. They didn’t take an edge rusher until Round 6 with Ahmed Hassanein. Detroit got 11 sacks out of Al-Quadin Muhammad in a wild 30-year-old breakout season, but he signed with Tampa Bay; the Lions really only signed DJ Wonnum to replace him.
Will a second-round pick in Derrick Moore get the job done? I might have gone with Zion Young, who went one pick later, but I think there’s upside for an eventual all-Michigan edge combo of Hutchinson and Moore (who had 10 sacks last season).
Jimmy Rolder (another Michigan player) and Keith Abney II were solid additions on defense, too. Rolder is versatile and has some burst as a blitzer. But where he really stands out is his ability to diagnose. He’s a smart football player. Abney is undersized at 5-foot-10 and 187 pounds, but he gets his hands on the ball. Abney had 20 pass breakups and five picks over the past two years. He should be a good backup.
