The Detroit Lions were among a handful of teams across the NFL that simply did not have the season they were hoping for. A number of holes popped up across the team’s roster that led to them being wildly inconsistent, and the end result was a season that saw the Lions miss the postseason entirely.
Detroit is going to be busy this offseason when it comes to upgrading its roster in an effort to find its way back to the playoffs. However, if you ask NFL analyst Daniel Jeremiah, the Lions may have a difficult time finding an upgrade at their biggest area of need, the center position on their offensive line, in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Lions Could Have a Tough Time Finding Top-Tier Center this Offseason
For seven years, the Lions had arguably the best center in the league, Frank Ragnow, at their disposal, but he opted to surprisingly retire after the 2024 campaign. Ragnow attempted to make a return in 2025, but a hamstring injury foiled his comeback attempt. Whether or not Ragnow will play in 2026 or not is unknown, but Detroit cannot rely on him returning to action next season.
With Ragnow out of the picture, left guard Graham Glasgow shifted over to center, and while he held his own, he’s not a long-term answer at this spot. Tate Ratledge, who played at right guard last season, has been floated as a potential option at center, but similar to Glasgow, he’s more well-suited to play at his native guard position.
On paper, finding an upgrade this offseason should be easy enough, but that may not be the case, particularly in the upcoming draft. While Jeremiah believes there’s a solid crop of centers in this draft class, he doesn’t have any of these guys ranked among his top 50 players in the draft. Furthermore, Jeremiah thinks that Detroit may have to wait until the third round in order to find a new center.
“I think there’s a decent group of centers.” Jeremiah recently said. “I don’t know that there’s one that I would jump on the table for and take in the second round, maybe a little bit of a reach there.”
What Should the Lions Do at the Center Position this Offseason?
GettyNFL analyst Daniel Jeremiah hit the Lions with a hard truth when it comes to their quest to upgrade their center position this offseason
The offensive line has become one of the most important units across the NFL over the past few seasons, and that was clear as day when watching the Lions this past season. Their inability to consistently protect Jared Goff under center and open running lanes for Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery handcuffed their offense, so if this group wants to get back on track, it starts along the offensive line.
Detroit could make a run at Tyler Linderbaum in free agency, but he’s going to cost a decent chunk of change, and for good reason. If they can’t land him, the Lions may have to take a patient approach and wait until the third round of the draft to find a guy worth selecting. It’s a tough situation, but the Lions’ front office is smart, and chances are they have a plan set in place for how they will fill this spot over the next few weeks.
