Position by Position: OG

Cap numbers found on overthecap.com, stats and additional information found on espn.com, pro-football-reference.com, and pff.com.

The Super Bowl has come and gone, the Seahawks raise their trophy as the Patriots set their sights on 2026. For the Lions one of the biggest keys to their 2026 success or failure may be the offensive line. While the interior offensive line is arguably more critical to success, let’s not forget that Goff is better in a clean pocket with his blind side covered. So let’s dig in and talk about who may or may not be covering Goff’s blind side in 2026.

Tate Ratledge

25 years old - Under contract through 2028 - 1.74 million dollar cap hit in 2026

While Tate Ratledge wasn’t perfect in his rookie year, he did very well in my personal opinion. He was available, he improved over time, and showed exactly why the Lions took him with the 57th overall pick in the 2025 draft. He has all the hallmarks of a great player moving forward. There are still murmurings that the Lions may move him to center this offseason. I go back and forth on if this is a good idea or not, but I am firmly in the good idea camp currently. Centers can be hard to come by. If he can be repurposed with little to no regression on his play, this could be a big win for the Lions and answer one of their biggest questions. I would also argue that it is much easier to find a quality guard than a quality center.

Tate Ratledge was solid in 2025:

He logged 2 false starts, 4 holding call, a pass block pff grade of 58.5 (60th) and a run block pff grade of 73.5 (12th).

Christian Mahogany

26 years old - Under contract through 2027 - 1.1 million dollar cap hit in 2026

Christian Mahogany was pretty good, but has room for improvement moving forward. The line as a whole seemed to have issues this year, and I think that Christian’s play was a result of this more than his skill. I do believe he can take another step this year and make his presence known. The unknown is how he will fare if Taylor Decker opts to retire. I consider the LT and LG like partners, they play into each other, and a change there could change his play for better or worse: we simply don’t know. However, given his 6th round draft status I would say overall he has performed admirably overall, and I hope to see him continue to improve.

Christian Mahogany did pretty well in 2025:

He logged 1 false start, no holding calls, a pass block pff grade of 40.7 (77th) and a run block pff grade of 68 (27th).

Kayode Awosika

28 years old - Free agent in 2026

To be quite honest, the negative jumps off the page for me more than the positive for Kayode. He is a depth guard though, and his stats don’t look terrible. Remembering that his intent is depth and fill in duties changes my mindset a little bit. You can’t have all depth players play like a starter, that’s just the reality of the NFL. I am torn, but at the end of the day I wouldn’t be surprised if the Lions brought him back. While he has his gaffes, he played clean of penalties in 2025 and is affordable (1.3 million dollar cap hit in 2025).

Kayode Awosika played just alright in 2025:

He logged no false starts or holding penalties, a pass block pff grade of 57.9 and a run block pff grade of 60.5.

Michael Niese

28 years old - Under contract through 2026 - 1.07 million dollar cap hit in 2026.

Michael Niese’s lack of playing time makes it hard to judge his play. I would argue the fact that we didn’t see more of him with all the injuries last year speaks to how the Lions coaching staff feels about him. At one point I was very high on him as a depth prospect, I mean the numbers actually look ok. However, I just get the impression he is not doing much to move the needle. He will need to step up this year to make the 53 man roster.

Michael Niese played sparingly in 2025:

Michael recorded no false starts or holding penalties, a pass block pff grade of 75.3 and a run block pff grade of 65.1.

Miles Frazier

25 years old - Under contract through 2028 - 1.08 million dollar cap hit in 2026

Miles Frazier is an exciting prospect. While injured for most of last year, when he was on the field he looked solid (When you notice his PFF grades are low, I would suggest you consider the sample size, in my opinion PFF grades need a big enough sample size to be very accurate but are still a valuable part of evaluating the offensive line). He has the flexibility to play at tackle and guard. There’s a lot to like moving forward with him, even if we don’t have a lot to be excited about in the past.

Miles Frazier didn’t move the needle much (yet) in 2025:

Miles recorded 2 false starts and 0 holding penalties, a pass block pff grade of 34.5 and a run block pff grade of 39.2.

Moving Forward

In my perspective, the Lions have laid out a nice foundation at guard. Lot’s of young players on rookie contracts, keeping costs low. I expect the Lions will add at least one veteran higher end guard in the offseason and have a camp battle to see who wins the starting positions. While 2025 was a rough time for the interior offensive line, the future is bright. Don’t get down on this line yet, I predict they will bounce back in 2026.