O-line expert Brandon Thorn believes the Detroit Lions linemen are in a class of their own.
We all know the Detroit Lions have a solid offensive line. It was a huge reason for their success last year, and it’s why they aren’t expected to regress this year. Yes, they let Jonah Jackson walk in free agency, but the timely acquisition of Kevin Zeitler in free agency helped fill that roster vacancy in a hurry.
But how does the Lions offensive line compared to the rest of the league? Well, according to one of the best offensive line experts in media, Detroit is in a class of their own. Brandon Thorn of Establish the Run and Trench Warfare created his 2024 tiered rankings of offensive line, and there was only one team in his top “Elite Offensive Lines” tier: your Detroit Lions.
“The Lions are coming off of a dominant season as an offensive line unit with right tackle Penei Sewell reaching All-Pro status that landed him the richest deal in league history for an offensive lineman at just 23 years old,” Thorn wrote. “Complementing Sewell is another All-Pro, Frank Ragnow, at center with a solid starter in Taylor Decker at left tackle. Last year’s left guard, Jonah Jackson, left this offseason via free agency to the Rams, but Detroit was able to replace him in-house with last year’s predominant starter at right guard and versatile swing piece, Graham Glasgow. While Glasgow doesn’t offer as much explosiveness and athletic ability as Jackson, he is a solid ‘B’ level starter who will provide functional play. This lateral move for Glasgow led to the signing of savvy veteran Kevin Zeitler who, despite being at the end of his career, should be counted on to at least provide what Glasgow did last season in 2024.”
Here was Thorn’s methodology for creating the list:
“I specialize in evaluating trench play. The primary factors I use to arrive at these rankings are my game-film evaluations of each individual offensive lineman, 2023 performance as a unit, age, experience, continuity, and coaching.”
Those factors point out that Detroit’s offensive line isn’t just full of talented players, but they’re solid in other areas as well. They’ve got incredibly continuity with four of last year’s starters returning and the three most critical positions (left tackle, right tackle and center) all returning for their third consecutive season together. Additionally, offensive line coach Hank Fraley is widely considered one of the best in the business.
While the Lions offensive line is trending towards an older group (their starters average an age of 29.2), they are starting to build for the future, as well. Sewell is only 23, while Detroit has developmental options in Giovanni Manu (23) and Colby Sorsdal (23).
In other words, don’t be surprised to see the Lions atop this list for years to come.