Fully appreciating Lions OL coach Hank Fraley’s 2023 masterpiece

Detroit Lions OL coach Hank Fraley gets plenty of praise, but what he did in 2023 deserves even more appreciation.

Pads are popping. Sprinklers are spritzing. Grass is being grazed. Fall is in the air. Chris Spielman is likely helping the groundskeepers. And Taylor Decker has signed pen to paper . It’s hog molly heaven in the Detroit Lions offensive line room.

From snout to tail, pound for pound, this is the best offensive line room in football. Their unit is the selection by most publications as the best in the NFL . Homegrown first-round picks Penei Sewell and Frank Ragnow have the second-highest annual salaries for their respective positions, and now, still in his prime , Decker has earned a third contract with the Lions .

Offensive line coach Hank Fraley is someone Decker can thank for that extension and is an impactful factor in the overall group’s success. Fraley has gone from supremely underrated to now hearing his name mentioned with the best offensive line coaches in the league. He helped those three Lions starters mentioned above maximize their talents and their piggy banks. Fraley also coached up Graham Glasgow into a major career bounceback last year, he helped get Jonah Jackson paid as a top-10 offensive guard annually this offseason, and was entrusted by the Lions front office with the investments of free agent Kevin Zeitler and early Day 3 developmental draft pick Giovanni Manu.

The glowing sentiment about the Lions offensive line group is leaving everyone happier than a pig in slop, however, it’s important to put into perspective the reality of offensive line play in the NFL. It’s more than those flashy, highly-paid, brand-name players on massive contracts (Frank Ragnow flashy, what a howler). To properly reset perspective from Lions fan’s Honolulu Blue-colored offseason glasses, let’s take a look back at the Lions’ entire 2023 offensive line game-by-game lineups and snaps played as a refresher.

2023 Lions OL game-by-game snaps

To piggyback off the chart above, you could make the argument that Fraley’s greatest accomplishment was keeping the offensive line, and entire offense by association, humming amidst a bevy of lineup changes. There were young, prepared players making some of their first starts and players cross-training at more than one position. All the while navigating having reserve players not becoming a liability for an offense that was still fifth-best in points per game and marched to the NFC Championship Game with the offensive line being a reliable strength of the team.

To further delve into the numbers, here are a few other interesting observations about the 2023 offensive line:

• 29 total lineups in 19 games
• Nine total different starting lineups
• Seven different starting lineups within the first eight weeks
• Nine total players started games (10 players played meaningful snaps)
• Four players started at least two positions (Five players played at least two positions)
• Glasgow started at three different positions
• Rookie Colby Sorsdal played at three different positions
• Record with Decker, Jackson, Ragnow, Glasgow, and Sewell starting lineup: 10-1
• Within the first 12 games: Two players played LT, five players played LG, two players played C, four players played RG, and four players played RT (Total = 17)
• Seven games with mid-game substitutions (Nine total game substitutions)

Aside from superior talent, both elite talent (Sewell, Ragnow) and Pro Bowl -level talent (Decker) helping to keep the offense afloat, the one constant was Fraley. A rising tide lifts all boats rings true for Fraley’s group and its effect on the offense despite whatever storms their group weathers. The big brutes upfront maintain a competent floor for Ben Johnson, Jared Goff, and the offensive skill players to rely on. The Lions won critical games with Kayode Awosika, Colby Sorsdal, Matt Nelson, or Dan Skipper in the lineup. Not many franchises can endure that kind of offensive line overturn.

Fraley is a crucial reason to believe that the new five-man starting line, with Glasgow moving to LG and Zeitler at RG, can coalesce and potentially dominate even more than last year’s group—particularly if the starting lineup has a little better luck in the injury department compared to last season. The depth should continue to develop in training camp and throughout the season to ensure the offensive line remains one of the best position groups in all of football. This group should elevate the play calling, execution by the signal caller, and abilities of the offensive weapons. If everything in hog molly heaven comes to fruition, Fraley’s unit will be a defining reason the Lions are hoisting a Lombardi Trophy at the end of their next climb up the mountain top.