The offseason is just getting started, and we’ve gained some clarity on what the 2026 Detroit Lions will look like.

Drew Petzing is the new offensive coordinator. It appears the defensive staff is largely staying intact. The combine, free agency and draft will be here before we know it. Until then, let’s answer some mailbag questions, shall we?

Thanks to everyone who submitted a question. Couldn’t get to all of them, but these mailbags help us come up with story ideas and give us a sense of what our subscribers are thinking about, so thank you again.

Hey Colton, appreciate all you do. Can you share some reasons for optimism around the Petzing hiring? I’m finding it hard to get excited about a retread from the *checks notes* Arizona Cardinals. — Myles S.

Hey Myles, I’ve written a few stories on Petzing and why it makes sense. I’m not saying don’t be skeptical or that you shouldn’t take a wait-and-see approach after the John Morton hire, but some of the discourse was out of hand when the news broke.

• Petzing is a Kevin Stefanski guy. That means he values the under-center dropback game, play-action and rhythm-based offenses. The Lions didn’t land Stefanski, but they did land one of his pupils. This is what Dan Campbell wants his offense to look like, and it’s easy to see the vision. The hope is that, because Jared Goff is a better stylistic fit than Kyler Murray, it can work here. He’ll also have Campbell guiding him.

• He landed on The Athletic’s 50 under 40 list in 2025 and earned a head-coaching interview with the Bears last year. People around the league think he’s an intelligent mind and did what he could with a QB who didn’t fit his system.

• The Cardinals were a top-10 rushing offense in 2023 and 2024, doing it with an average offensive line and James Conner at ages 28 and 29. Cowboys OC Klayton Adams (formerly Petzing’s run-game coordinator/offensive line coach) was a big part of that, but Petzing worked with Lions OL coach/run-game coordinator Hank Fraley in Minnesota. They speak the same language.

In hindsight, maybe Petzing wasn’t the right fit in Arizona. I understand why he took the job — he had a relationship with Jonathan Gannon and it was a promotion — but his offense is more conducive to a QB like Kirk Cousins and Goff than it is for a shotgun QB like Murray. There are only 32 of these jobs, so I get the appeal, but man, I think he would’ve been better off sticking with Stefanski and waiting for a better opportunity. He has that now in Detroit.

If he fails after an opportunity like this, it would then be fair to say he might not have the chops for play calling.

Colton, what percentage chance do you think there is of David Montgomery returning? Personally, I think it’d be a mistake to let him go. With better/the right play calling, I think his production would go back to the halcyon Ben Johnson days. — Jennifer C.

A timely question, Jennifer. There’s been a lot of buzz regarding Montgomery’s future with the team. I’ve touched on it in past stories and on podcasts, but it’s clear Montgomery wasn’t thrilled with his role this year. GM Brad Holmes said it himself at his end-of-season news conference. His touches went down drastically, as the team paved way for Jahmyr Gibbs to take on the RB1 role. In his last full season in 2023, Montgomery rushed 219 times. This year? Just 158 rush attempts — the fewest of his career.

Montgomery isn’t a selfish player, but if he believes he can do more, it’s hard to fault the competitor in him. Considering how proactive the Lions were in signing him to a two-year extension halfway through Year 2 of a three-year contract, you wouldn’t expect his usage to decrease as much as it did. Now, maybe some of it was game flow and needing Gibbs in for passing situations (in addition to his home-run ability), but the Lions got away from him far too often.

I tend to think the Petzing hire could really benefit Montgomery for reasons discussed here, but the Lions might have to smooth things over. Or, they could look to get younger (and cheaper) at the position and continue to prioritize Gibbs.

“Obviously, I know that it was a tough year for him in terms of the lack of touches,” Holmes said earlier this month. “I’m not going to say that we went into it planning it to be that way. I think he handled it like a pro. Look, those are discussions that we’re going to have to have a lot more in-depth in terms of what is the best plan for him going forward, is it somewhere else or whatever the case be. Just really appreciate everything that he has done for us, if it does end up going that way. I hope it doesn’t because we love David Montgomery.”

Do you think Dan Campbell has any pressure to make this year’s offensive coordinator work? Is it possible Dan could be on the hot seat if he doesn’t make the playoffs next year? — Dave D. 

Hey Dave, thanks for the question. Campbell’s had three offensive coordinators in five years, and he’s fired two of them after one season. Obviously, the other one happened to be one of the best hires in recent memory. So, I suppose it depends on your confidence in his ability to hire.

I know for a fact the Lions’ confidence level is high. I’ve written about it multiple times, having talked to the higher-ups of this franchise. It’s one of their core principles, and look, not every hire is going to be a hit. I give Campbell credit for pulling the plug on Anthony Lynn and John Morton when he did. You sort of have to set aside your pride and admit when things aren’t working. Campbell’s done that twice now, and other coaches might’ve chosen to run it back after a year like the one the Lions just had.

After all, the offense didn’t fall off a cliff. It was still top 5 in scoring, yards per game and explosive-play rate. Campbell could’ve kept Morton and talked about needing to improve in the trenches. But he has a vision for this offense and what it’s supposed to look like, and Morton couldn’t execute it.

I’m less worried about the offense than most of you are. The moves to bring in Petzing and Mike Kafka make a ton of sense to me. They can serve as ideas guys for Campbell — Petzing in the run game and play-sequencing and Kafka in the passing game/creativity department. They’ll be able to evaluate the offense with a fresh set of eyes and have multiple years of play-calling experience. The talent is still in place for this to be a top-5 offense. If they can perform better situationally and show consistency vs. the better defenses on their schedule, they’ll be fine.

As long as they fix the offensive line.

Frank Ragnow attempted to come back at the final moment last season. Given the need to draft and develop offensive linemen, will he attempt another comeback? Is someone like Tyler Linderbaum from the Ravens a potential target in free agency? He’s proven and — if he hits the open market — fair game. — Naked Bootleg L.

I think the ship there has pretty much sailed. Holmes said the Lions haven’t had contact with Ragnow since the failed physical. I’m not sure the itch to play football was ever really there — more so an itch to help his teammates. Barring something unforeseen, I really think he’s done this time.

That said, the Lions do need a center. They can’t run it back with Graham Glasgow, who could be thinking about retirement himself. I’m also not sure the Lions can afford to enter 2026 with Tate Ratledge at center without insurance. I’m just not sold on him being the answer there. He’s never done it, and the Lions pulled the plug on that experiment less than a week into training camp. Given the issues at center this past season, I don’t think you can go into a year with an unknown like Ratledge would be. I’m also not certain he wants to play it.

As for Linderbaum, we’ll see. I suppose the Ravens could move on with a new coaching staff, but I sort of feel like the only way that’s a possibility for the Lions is if Taylor Decker retires and it frees up some money — or they’re comfortable not re-signing one of their young, long-term extension candidates. But if they create enough space and he wants to come here, he could solve most of their problems in the interior. Jack Campbell raved about him to me when I picked his brain. He’d be the high-priced free agent to go after, but a center like Connor McGovern could be an option as well.

Is Brad Holmes willing to change his draft strategy in this coming draft, to go more for positions of need rather than best player available? — Nick J.

Hey Nick, thanks for the question. More often than not, Holmes has done well to stock the roster with talent while improving each year. Obviously, that linear progression ended this year.

I think the biggest issue with this philosophy is that it can leave you vulnerable. Take last year, for example. The Lions didn’t sign a top free-agent edge rusher. They used that money on corner D.J. Reed instead, while bringing back Marcus Davenport, Levi Onwuzurike and Al-Quadin Muhammad. Naturally, most assumed edge help would come in the draft. It didn’t, and injuries to Davenport, Onwuzurike and Josh Paschal left the Lions thin at edge. Nobody expected Muhammad to record an 11-sack season on a salary of $1.4 million, but 7.5 of those sacks came in three games. Now he’s a free agent looking to cash in, and the Lions will be right back where they started if they don’t want to pay for his age-30 production. It’s why a long-term edge is still near the top of their list of needs.

The draft is a whirlwind, and it’s hard to plan on certain prospects being available when you’re on the clock. Holmes said edge wasn’t ignored, “it just didn’t come together like how we would have liked it to be from a draft standpoint.” I heard one of the edge prospects the Lions liked a year ago was Panthers edge Nic Scourton, who had a nice rookie year with five sacks. He was selected 51st overall. Ratledge was the pick instead, after the Lions traded up to No. 57. Another might’ve been Chiefs edge Ashton Gillotte, taken four picks before Isaac TeSlaa.

Holmes prefers to pivot to different positions the front office has evaluated as fits, rather than force himself to take the next highest-graded prospect. So while you can end up with a class of three future starters in Tyleik Williams, Ratledge and TeSlaa, you still have glaring needs elsewhere.

So, then, do you change that strategy when it’s led you to good players? One option might be to settle for the high floor, instant rotational player in the middle rounds instead of trading up for the Day 2/Day 3 prospect with potential who might be a starter by, say, Year 3. Another would be to fill needs meaningfully in free agency so you can afford to continue taking those swings come April. I don’t know if Holmes wants to change his approach. He shouldn’t drastically. But it’s worth a conversation.

You’ve alluded a couple of times to Detroit’s man-heavy (system) emphasizing 3 LBs on defense and how other teams use this scheme sparingly. Are Detroit’s defensive issues (which I think should be getting more attention) a product of injury and bad luck, or do you think there are more fundamental issues, which include the scheme? — Christopher H.

Hey, Christopher. Good question here. No team played more 4-3 (four defensive linemen, three linebackers) than the Lions this past season. Per TruMedia, the Lions’ 4-3 rate of 60 percent ranked first in the NFL, accounting for 630 of their 1,050 defensive snaps. They also led the league the previous season with a 4-3 rate of 38.7 percent. League average was 13.5 percent in 2024 and 12.8 percent this past season.

My colleague at The Athletic, Ted Nguyen, wrote a piece that highlighted the importance of a premium nickel corner in the modern NFL. The Lions ranked 32nd in nickel rate this past season, though injuries at outside cornerback (and Amik Robertson covering there) factored into that.

Now, I wouldn’t necessarily say this is the reason their defense ranked 22nd in points per game allowed. This unit was playing good football for long stretches. From Weeks 1-9, the Lions ranked third in defensive success rate at 62 percent, trailing only the Broncos and Browns — ahead of the Rams (fourth), Texans (fifth) and Seahawks (sixth). They were top 10 in points per drive, yards per game, EPA per snap, defensive rushing success rate and defensive pass EPA per dropback, as well as 13th in overall scoring. The injuries certainly hurt, and the Lions had a young DC trying to navigate it. Robert Saleh made it work in San Francisco with injuries. The Lions couldn’t.

I’ll go longer on this topic soon, but I do think this defense could use more juice (read: athleticism) in the front seven, and should be looking for another Brian Branch Swiss Army-knife nickel. Easier said than done, of course, but you can find guys with similar skill sets every year.

Due to the nature of the job, I am guessing that you travel a lot. Are you a podcast or music guy? Any recommendations? — Nik B.

Fun one here. I think it sort of depends on the situation. If we’re talking about a long drive, I personally love a phone call as a way to pass the time and catch up with friends I haven’t talked to in a minute.

During the season, I’ll listen to football pods to learn about other teams. Not just saying this because he’s my co-worker, but Robert Mays and The Athletic Football Show crew are some of the most knowledgeable dudes in the biz. Funny and informative (I’ll text you my Venmo, Robert).

Sometimes you need to get away from football, though. The Ringer has something for everyone — The Rewatchables and The Prestige TV Podcast (especially when a new Severance season is out) are both great. Sadly, I love reality TV (Love Island has me in a chokehold in July), so I’ll listen to recap pods about certain shows. Or I’ll throw on a stand-up comedy playlist.

I think my music taste has evolved a lot over the years, but I’ve definitely found myself gravitating to R&B/neo-soul as I get older. Some of my favorite artists are Frank Ocean, Anderson .Paak, Daniel Caesar, Leon Thomas, to name a few.