Table of Contents
Super Bowl road maps: Jaguars| Bears| Browns | Dolphins | Packers
Welcome to Super Bowl LXI road maps, where we look at every team’s chances of winning it all in 2026. We’ll analyze the summer optimism before providing a reality check of what’s to come. Next path to assess: the Lions.
There were a few teams expected to contend for a title in 2025, only to miss the playoffs entirely.
In the AFC, the Chiefs and Ravens stunned the football world, each failing to qualify for the postseason while combining to win 14 games. As a result, Baltimore fired its coach while Kansas City moved on from offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. In the NFC, the Lions were the shocker, missing out on postseason play for the first time in three years after finishing last in the NFC North with a 9–8 record.
Like the Chiefs, Detroit made some changes to the coaching staff behind the head man, believing moderate moves should precede any massive ones. But if things don’t improve in 2026, conversation about coach Dan Campbell, and perhaps even veteran quarterback Jared Goff, could grow louder, as the consternation in Michigan grows.
Leadership
Even though the Lions finished fifth in both points and yardage last season, they’ll enter 2026 with their third offensive coordinator in as many years.
After losing Ben Johnson to the Bears’ head coaching post last offseason, Detroit went one-and-done with John Morton, firing him despite the team’s considerable output. With Morton out, the Lions turned to Drew Petzing, who finished his three-year stint with the Cardinals in the same position. Petzing has experience in the division, having worked six years with the Vikings as an offensive assistant from 2014 to ’19.
Meanwhile, despite lackluster results, Kelvin Sheppard is back for his second season as defensive coordinator. The unit ranked 18th in yards and 22nd in points allowed, but with injuries piling up in the secondary, including Kerby Joseph (knee) and Brian Branch (Achilles), Detroit fell apart down the stretch, allowing 28.1 points per game over the final seven weeks during which the Lions went 3–4.
Still, Detroit is run by coach Campbell, who is entering his sixth year at the helm. Despite a middling overall record of 54-45-1, dragged down by a 3-13-1 first season, Campbell is beloved in Motown, having led the Lions to a pair of NFC North titles (they had zero before his arrival) and an NFC title game appearance, a place the franchise hadn’t been since 1991.
Most influential roster move
For years, the Lions had one of the best offensive lines in football. The group was anchored by a pair of All-Pros in right tackle Penei Sewell and center Frank Ragnow, along with Pro Bowler Taylor Decker on the left edge. However, Ragnow and Decker retired over the past two offseasons, leaving major holes for general manager Brad Holmes to fill.
This winter, Holmes solved the center issue by signing Cade Mays to a three-year, $25 million deal, nabbing him from the Panthers. In Carolina, the 27-year-old started 27 games across four seasons, including 12 last year, posting a 67.6 pass-blocking grade on Pro Football Focus to rank 12th-best. He’ll replace Graham Glasgow, who ranked 27th in the category and 32nd of 37 qualified centers.
With Mays, Detroit now has a strong option in the pivot and someone for young guards Tate Ratledge and Christian Mahogany to play off. The fifth-year veteran is one of the league’s largest centers at 6'6" and 325 pounds, giving immobile quarterback Jared Goff the security of being able to step into the pocket without much worry of his center getting bull-rushed.
Perhaps the only concern is how quickly Mays will pick up the new offense, and how long it will take for him and Goff to get comfortable with each other. For Goff, this is his third center in as many years.
Why this offseason move will work
We’re staying with the offensive line for another section. This time, we’ll move to the outside and focus on the tackle spots.
After becoming a four-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro as a right tackle, Sewell is moving to the left side following Decker’s retirement. With Sewell moving to the blindside, the Lions drafted Clemson’s Blake Miller with their first-round pick in April to man the right side.
The big question is whether switching Sewell’s position will work. At Clemson, Miller was a four-year stalwart on the right side, starting 53 games. Of course, Campbell always has the option of reversing course if things aren’t working out, but that’s something to watch throughout the summer in Allen Park.
Still, this line now has its best talent since Ragnow and Decker were on the team with Sewell and Pro Bowl guard Kevin Zeitler back in 2023. If Miller can turn into a quality right tackle, the Lions will have three starting linemen on rookie deals, along with Mays making less than $9 million annually. All those savings should help the Lions bolster their defense while also keeping some of their premier talents, including running back Jahmyr Gibbs.
Breakout player candidate: Sam LaPorta, TE
This might be bending the rules a bit, since LaPorta was already a Pro Bowler and made second-team All-Pro as a rookie. Still, his potential remains vast compared to what has been achieved through three seasons.
Entering the final year of his rookie deal, LaPorta has plenty to prove. After posting 86 catches for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023, he’s struggled to regain that form. In his second season, LaPorta caught 60 passes for 726 yards and seven scores before being limited to nine games in ’25. However, in half a season, LaPorta amassed 40 receptions for 489 yards and three touchdowns, putting him on pace for what would be a career best of 923 yards.
If the 25-year-old can stay healthy following back surgery, he should be a major part of the offense again. His usage has consistently increased, playing 83% and 85% of the offensive snaps over his first two years before getting 90% in 2025. He also averaged 5.4 targets per game last year, slightly up from 5.1 the year prior.
With financial and on-field motivation, LaPorta could vault himself into the conversation as one of the game’s top tight ends.
Missing piece
The pass rush remains a tremendous problem opposite Aidan Hutchinson.
Since drafting Hutchinson No. 2 in 2022, the Lions have put one player after another across from him, including Charles Harris, John Cominsky, Marcus Davenport and Al-Quadin Muhammad. Muhammad was the only successful one of the bunch, posting 11 sacks last season. However, he was allowed to leave in free agency on a one-year deal with the Buccaneers.
While Holmes likely let Muhammad walk due to his age (31) and lack of prior results (15 sacks over his first seven seasons), it puts Hutchinson back in the familiar position of having a new face as the bookend of his line. And this year, Holmes tried to find a long-term solution by drafting Derrick Moore in the second round, another Michigan product, like Hutchinson.
With the Wolverines, Moore totaled 21 sacks and 24.5 tackles for loss while winning a national championship in 2023. Named first-team All-Big Ten as a senior, Moore projects to slide into a starting role for Detroit, but can he be an immediate impact player?
Last season, Jalon Walker led NFL rookies in sacks with 5.5 (tied for 57th across the league). Even if Moore is terrific, the Lions need the signings of Payton Turner and D.J. Wonnum to produce as rotational players. In 2025, that duo combined for five sacks and seven quarterback hits, perhaps explaining why they were free agents.
Realistic outlook
The Lions have the pieces to be a dynamic offensive team. The line is revamped, and the weapons are abundant, including a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown, the aforementioned LaPorta at tight end and Gibbs in the backfield, fresh off gaining 1,839 scrimmage yards with 18 touchdowns.
Then there’s Goff, who, despite some physical limitations, threw for 4,564 yards and 34 touchdowns against eight interceptions in 2025. At 31 years old, there’s no reason to believe he’s going to see a steep drop in production anytime soon.
However, the defense is a mess. Sheppard didn’t see good results in his first year as coordinator after replacing Aaron Glenn, and the talent level isn’t higher than it was a year ago. After losing Muhammad and veteran linebacker Alex Anzalone in free agency to the Buccaneers, Detroit is replacing them with a second-round rookie and Malcolm Rodriguez.
In the secondary, the Lions are hoping for healthy returns from Branch and Joseph, but those are far from certain. Branchsustained a torn Achilles in December, likely keeping him out for a large portion of 2026. Joseph is dealing with a knee injury, and hisreturn timeline has been shrouded in mystery. If the two stars are sidelined for much or all of this season, it’s hard to see the defense being stout.
All told, Lions games could be what they’ve been much of the last few years: a race to 30.
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MATT VERDERAME
Matt Verderame is a national NFL staff writer for Sports Illustrated, writing features, columns and more. Before joining Sports Illustrated in March 2023, Verderame wrote for FanSided and SB Nation. He’s a proud husband to Stephanie and father of two girls, Maisy and Genevieve. In his spare time, Verderame is an avid collector of vintage baseball cards.
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