The Detroit Lions defense has been on display this preseason. They’ve had the edge on the offense for most of training camp, and in the two preseason games, they’ve held opponents to just 22 total points.
On Wednesday, coach Dan Campbell even expressed his confidence in the defense’s front seven.
“I feel really good with where our D-line is at right now and really that front seven,” Campbell said. “I feel that group of guys plus bench, plus the bench. I feel really good, man. I feel like it’s a good group.
It’s a versatile group. There’s depth in there. There are pieces. You can ask them to do different jobs. And so yeah, you’re asking me right now, I feel really good about it.”
But we’ve been fooled before. The secondary looked incredible during the 2025 preseason and training camp, then fell off when the regular season started. This isn’t the first time the defense has looked ahead of the offense, and it’s almost always been the offense that ends up looking better.
Plus, how much can we really tell from practices and the preseason? The defensive line has undoubtedly been playing well in August, but they’ve been going against a Lions offensive line that is still a work in progress, and two preseason teams with serious questions on their offensive line.
And as Campbell was quick to point out, the true test is when the regular season starts.
“Until we get in a real game that really counts, real minutes, New Orleans will be our first big barometer,” Campbell said. “That’s when we’ll really know where we’re at.”
But is it okay to start believing now? Are there signs this training camp that the defensive improvement is for real? Are some of the new things the Lions defense is doing this year going to translate into much better production for the 2026 season? Erik Schlitt and I discuss reasons for and against optimism for Detroit’s defense at length in this week’s Midweek Mailbag podcast.
Other topics on the show include:
- How much Christian Izien’s injury could impact the Week 1 secondary
- Is the offensive line worse off than last year?
- Which veterans could be cut and brought back?
- Should we start worrying about Isiah Pacheco?
- How much run defense can we expect from Derrick Moore, Skyler Gill-Howard?
- Why is special teams so important? What makes it so hard for good players on offense/defense to play on special teams?
- Who could be the last 2-4 players out on roster cuts?
- How do the Lions’ superstars look in training camp thus far?
Catch the entire episode on whatever your favorite podcasting platform is, or use the Spotify embed below.
As always, you can also catch video of the Midweek Mailbag over on YouTube or Twitch, which also features a bunch of bonus content.
