The Detroit Lions have ranked among the five highest-scoring offenses in the NFL every year since 2022, and things should be no different in 2026.
They return a Pro Bowl quarterback in Jared Goff, veteran playmakers at the skill positions and have one of the game’s best linemen anchoring a young offensive front.
Here’s a position-by-position look at what to expect from the Lions offense this season, which begins Sunday afternoon against the New Orleans Saints at Ford Field (1 p.m., Fox), before a quick turn to Week 2 at Buffalo on Thursday Night Football.
Quarterbacks
- On the roster: Jared Goff, Josh Dobbs.
The buzz: Goff has been one of the best and most durable quarterbacks in the NFL since coming to the Lions from the Los Angeles Rams in a 2021 trade. He hasn’t missed a game since his first season
in Detroit and he’s the only quarterback to top 4,400 yards passing the past four seasons.
As long as Goff stays healthy this fall, this should be a position of strength for the Lions. Goff is excellent identifying defenses and getting into the right plays at the line of scrimmage, and he seems to have a telekinetic connection with his top two receivers. He’s not the most mobile quarterback. He took a career-high 38 sacks last year. But he’s tough in the pocket and Lions general manager Brad Holmes touted the “seamless transition” he’s had to working with new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing – his fifth different play caller in Detroit – this summer.
Dobbs beat out undrafted rookie Luke Altmyer for the backup job. He’s a well-traveled vet, on his ninth team in 10 NFL seasons, and he’s played for Petzing before (with the Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns) and had a brief stint on the Lions’ practice squad in 2022. Still, the Lions would rather he not see the field this year.
Running backs
- On the roster: Jahmyr Gibbs, Jacob Saylors, Sione Vaki, Isiah Pacheco (IR).
The buzz: In Gibbs, the Lions have arguably the most dynamic, complete back in the NFL. Gibbs has topped 1,200 yards rushing each of the past two seasons and averages 5.3 yards per carry for his career. He’s more than capable as a receiver and his 49 career touchdowns are the most ever by a player in his first three NFL seasons. The team rewarded Gibbs with a new contract making him the NFL's highest-paid back.
Dan Campbell said Gibbs will be the “bell cow” of the offense this year after the Lions traded David Montgomery to the Houston Texans in the offseason. Gibbs did MMA training this offseason to prepare his body for a bigger workload, but he’s never had more than 250 carries in a season. There’s a good chance he tops 300 this year and 2,000 all-purpose yards is within reach.
Pacheco was expected to play as Gibbs’ primary backup, but he dealt with knee and back injuries that kept him off the field this spring and he’s out until October at the earliest now. Saylors doesn’t have the same physical rushing style as Pacheco or Montgomery, but has good vision and is smart and willing in pass protection. Vaki played primarily as a safety in college and can’t be counted on for much help on offense given his injury history and the fact he has seven NFL carries to his name.
Wide receivers
- On the roster: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Isaac TeSlaa, Tay Martin, Tom Kennedy.
The buzz: The Lions have as good a 1-2 punch at receiver as anyone in the NFL, though their depth falls off quickly after that. St. Brown is a two-time first-team All-Pro who’s racked up 140-plus targets each of the past four seasons as Goff’s favorite target. He’s the alpha of the offense, a chain mover who’s distinguishing trait is his fearlessness, former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, and he looked as dialed in as ever this preseason.
Williams has drawn praise this summer from teammates and coaches for his maturation on and off the field. He’s still the Lions’ best deep-ball threat, but receivers coach Scottie Montgomery said he’s gotten better with his catch point and route detail and other finer points of the game. Williams has upped his receptions and receiving yards every year he’s been in the NFL and the expectation is he’ll do it again this year if he stays healthy.
TeSlaa had a sluggish summer as the No. 3 receiver, but he’s next in line if anything happens to St. Brown or Williams. TeSlaa doesn’t win as easily at the line as his counterparts and wasn’t as good in contested-catch situations this summer as he was last year, but he has the size and ability to beat No. 3 cornerbacks in games. Martin is expected to make his biggest contributions on special teams, where he could start as a gunner, after catching 42 passes in the UFL this spring. And Kennedy is a savvy slot receiver who’s smart enough to fill in just about anywhere on offense if needed. He should be one of the Lions’ primary kick returners this season.
Tight ends
- On the roster: Sam LaPorta, Brock Wright, Tyler Conklin, Jackson Meeks.
The buzz: Petzing ran plays out of “13” personnel with three tight ends on the field 10% of the time last season as coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals, third most in the league, and the Lions kept four tight ends on their roster to perhaps try and create similar matchup problems.
LaPorta is returning from back surgery and had an injury scare with his hip this summer, but he’s the star of the group and was trending toward a career year last year before he got hurt. He did not drop a pass in nine games and averaged a career-high 12.2 yards per catch. He’s probably the Lions’ fourth option on offense behind Gibbs, St. Brown and Williams, and few teams have someone better in that role.
Wright is the type of dirty-work players coaches love. He has played primarily as a blocker throughout his career but has five seasons with at least 10 catches. Conklin (Central Michigan) struggled to make an impact with the Los Angeles Chargers last season after four straight years with 50-plus catches. He’s a heady vet, though, who should see time in three-tight end sets. And Meeks is a converted receiver with good hands who can play on special teams but doesn’t offer much as a blocker.
Offensive line
- On the roster: Penei Sewell, Christian Mahogany, Juice Scruggs, Tate Ratledge, Blake Miller, Larry Borom, Ben Bartch, Miles Fraizer, Cade Mays (IR), Gio Manu (NFI).
The buzz: The Lions’ new-look line took a major hit this summer when Mays suffered a wrist injury that will keep him out until at least the middle of the year. The Lions brought Mays in to handle snapping duties after struggling in their transition from Frank Ragnow last season, and his absence bumps Scruggs into a starting role and likely makes Ratledge the top backup at center.
Sewell remains the headliner of this group as a three-time first-team All-Pro. He’s playing left tackle full-time for the first time since his 2019 season at Oregon, but is such a good athlete the transition should be easy. The Lions profiled heavily as a right-handed running team last year (running a third more plays behind right guard, right tackle and right end than they did to the left side), so it will be interesting to see if they lean left-handed this year.
Ratledge and Miller, the Lions’ first-round pick, will hold down the right guard and right tackle spots. Multiple coaches identified Ratledge as a breakout candidate after a strong first season and better camp, while Miller had an up-and-down summer competing against Aidan Hutchinson. Miller has a promising future ahead, but could encounter some growing pains. Mahogany will open the season as the Lions’ starting left guard after a choppy and injury-filled 2025, with Bartch waiting if things don’t go well.
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions offensive depth chart should be among NFL's most feared
