PORT CHARLOTTE, Florida December 27, 2025 – The 2025 NFL season is still upon us, but for all intents and purposes, it has came to an end for the Detroit Lions. With the 23-10 loss against the Vikings on Christmas Day, the Lions unwrapped the gift of an early vacation as they were eliminated from the playoffs. There is still one last thing to fight for January 4th versus the Bears. Then, its on to the off season and making a couple core moves that will return Detroit to the Super Bowl hunt (what a wild thing to finally be saying). 

The lions sit at 8-8 and thanks to a 17 game season, no team has to dwell in the world of finishing a year at .500. January 4th gives Detroit a chance to do something extremely rare in their history. A 9th win would make it 4 seasons in a row with a winning record. The last time Detroit was able to say that was 1969-1972. That is nowhere near a consolation for fans of a team that were considered legitimate Super Bowl contenders after a 15-2 season in 2024.  Yet, it could leave a strong reminder to Lions faithful that they're no longer the doormat of the NFL. 

Entering the 2025 season, the Lions faced a lot to overcome on offence, and we're not just talking coaching departures. The NFL's best offensive, averaging 33.2 points per game would be without All Pro Center Frank Ragnow. RG Kevin Zeitler, who had been a pro bowl guard in 2023 and an alternate in 2024, had also departed. Those are giant holes to fill that perhaps wasn't adequately done. Still, for a portion of the year the Lions remained the NFL's top offence and only dropped to #2 heading into week 17.

At this point, the wheels completely fell off. LT Taylor Decker was now replaced with perennial practice squad star Dan Skipper due to illness. Center was being helmed by an undrafted second year player named Kingsley Eguakun with Graham Glascow on the bench. Just the week prior, rookie Miles Frazier with no previous playing experience at Center had to enter the game snapping to Goff. This doesn't even account for the 3rd and 4th string Tight Ends replacing 2023 Pro Bowl and 24 alternate Sam Laporta. 

The 2024 Lions overcame a (at times) struggling defence that was decimated by injuries thanks to a prolific offence. The 2026 rendition could be a return to form with only a few smart moves. Ones we'll outline for you shortly. First you have to take into consideration that stars Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Jared Goff are all under contract. Even Sam Laporta returns in a contract year as there is no 5th year option on his rookie contract.  To return the Lions to offensive glory, one only needs to look to the trenches. 

This won't be a simple task. GM Brad Holmes will not be able to hit the free agent market to find those athletes. The Lions are estimated to enter 2026 at least 32 million dollars over the projected cap. They'll be doing so with less than 40 players on contract. Even with significant restructuring of contracts, the Lions will not have free agent money. Sorry guys, that means no big movies for Crosby no matter how many times you type it in bold. 

What it means is the Lions front office MUST rely on the draft to accomplish this goal. The good news? The 2026 NFL draft might one day be considered the greatest year for drafting offensive linemen. There are at least 6 OL projected to go in the first round with as many as 8 that reasonably could be selected. This includes 3 tackles that could go in the top 16 and the top guard could go as high as number 20.

Here is how the Lions stage their comeback in 2026:

We won't know exactly where the Lions will pick until after week 18. Its fair to assume they'll end up around the 16th selection in the first round. Sorry folks, that means no Caleb Lomu out of Utah nor Miami's Francis Maiugoa. Both should go between 11-14 if they fall. Caleb would be a reasonable selection in the top 6 as there are no less than three teams that truly could use a LT of the future.

Don't feel disappointed though, this is about as good of news as you could hope for. The human wrecking machine known as Kaydn Proctor out of Alabama will be there. This 6-6, 370 pound mammoth moves people out of the way in the running game with absolute ease. Does that mean he is the best OT in 2026? Maybe not. Is he exactly what the Lions need to force them to move Sewell to LT if they were to draft Kayden? Yes. Your answer for Decker is already on the team and the best RT you could draft this year is all yours. The columns needed to hold up your championship banners are yours for years to come.

I'm a Lions fan, I love Decker and he's a darn good tackle. His days are numbered by his own choice. We've heard it in interviews, he's not excited to keep playing. If you've lost the love for the game, you're not going to overcome the nagging injuries he's fighting through. That's okay, Trust me, I know as well as anyone what it's like to finally leave your cleats on the field (sorry, old wrestler saying). I came out of "retirement" after 11 years in 2022 and played football again at 40 years old. I even changed from my years as a fullback to Center for the sake of the team that talked me into it by sliding a contract over to me over wings and beer at a bar. It's hard, but there comes a day where you have to focus on the next portion of your life.

Much like the Lions will need to do in the second round. This draft is so full of linemen options that the Honolulu Blue may be motivated to trade down in the first round. If they do so, Penn State's Olaivavega "Vega" Loane is the best darn guard in college football (sorry Bisontis, you'll go in the second). Tate is a "good" young guard, not great. He has the potential to be a long term, quality starter in the NFL. Mahogany is a project, which was evident by his absolute destruction against the Vikings. Dropping down (if it gives us another second rounder at least) and selecting Vega means we improve not just our starter, but make our depth better by pushing one of those young guys down the depth chart. Either way, the Center of our future is hanging out here by the name of Parker Bailsford.

Stop all the he's too small crap. He's an inch under the prototype and a couple Burger King Whoppers away from 300 pounds. At "only" 6'2 and 290, he's an All American and the best Center in college football. He will struggling against an occasional 360 pound NFL  nose guard in the run game but will otherwise provide years of stability at a must fix roster spot. The ONLY Center I would have selected over him is Lapani Laloulu from Oregon and it's official, he's returning to college for 2026. 

If Decker returns, and the Lions don't step up and draft competition for him, then a lineup featuring LT Decker, LG Vega, C Parker, RG Tate, and RT Sewell makes for a return to the top 5. 

"WAAAH, I want a DE!!!" Yes, we all do. The best DE's will go in the top 5. Daunte Moore and Keldric Faulk at worst will be selected in the top 9. Baine might even join them. Someone is going to over draft David Bailey and it better not be us. David is a strong pass rush specialist, but he is not an every down player. You don't take a someone in the first round who can't help you on every down. TJ Parker is solid, he'll start for someone. He'll even wind up a borderline pro bowler for multiple season. Selecting him will help the defence, but will not put the Lions back in contention in 2026.

The defence is going to go through a significant rebuilding in 2026. That is a fact that's out of Detroit's hands. Alex Anzalone is gone. His contract expires after week 18 and the Lions don't have the money to resign him even if they wanted to. We already know from this past season's camp that his contract will be an issue. Likewise, Reader is headed out the door because we cannot afford a third, costly, defensive tackle when we have a second year player we drafted in the first round and Alim on extension. You just cannot prioritise money there. Sadly that also means Lopez will probably be forced to depart as his play in 2025 warrants an increased salary. 

A lot of baggage is gone too. Levi, Davenport, and Pashal are all injury prone players who've under performed while on the field or due to availability. That doesn't free up any money though. The real question will be can Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph come back from injury. They're an amazing duo, but the odds are at least one of them won't. Not because we're not rooting for them to succeed, but because the math just doesn't side with them. 

This is a lot of holes to fill with no free agency money to spend. Repair the offensive line and a Lions team averaging over 30 points per game again can carry the team. Spend those draft picks on defence and a makeshift offensive line will doom Detroit to mediocrity. 

If you hear two of the following names drafted by Detroit in 2026, the Lions will return to the playoffs: Proctor, Loane, Bailsford.  Emmanuel Pregnon (OG Oregon) can be in that equation. My dark horse for OT is right next to Pregnon with Isaaih World whose size matches his name. This man keeps sliding down draft boards for some reason. If you don't hear at least two of those, the Lions will struggle to reach 9 wins again as the defence will need a lot of help that the current offensive line cannot provide. 

If you like these articles and would like to see more, don't worry about donating. Just sign up for The B Stream, the best streaming service in the world for "B" movies, horror gems, and cult favorites. After all, this might be the only streaming service ran by a true Lions fan. 

Operating as a subscription streaming service, The B Stream releases movies and TV series in the uncensored manner they receive each title. It never interrupts its viewers movie watching with advertisements and even features a social media element it calls The Hive (the community feature on its apps). Here subscribers can interact with each other, post their own videos and photos, and even request movies to be licensed. Subscriptions are available as low as $5.99 a month when purchased annually or no commitment required for only $7.99 a month. It can be found at thebstream.com and through your Apple and Google Play App stores.