The Lions won 3, 9, 12, then 15 games during Dan Campbell's first four seasons in charge. Unfortunately, Jared Goff and company took their first meaningful step back in 2025, finishing in third place inside a loaded NFC North. Of course, injuries across the offensive line and on defense certainly didn't help matters, nor did a 3-5 record in one-score games.

• 2025: 9-8 (+68 point differential, preseason win total: 10.5)
• Points per game: 28.3 (tied for 4th)
• EPA per pass: +0.17 (7th)
• EPA per rush: -0.07 (17th)
• Points per game against: 24.3 (22nd)
• EPA per pass against: +0.04 (14th)
• EPA per rush against: -0.04 (23rd)

Better luck from the injury and regression gods might be the Lions' best path to getting the good times rolling again: There isn't much available cap space for the league's fourth-most expensive roster entering 2026, and the Lions don't have a third-round pick stemming from the Isaac TeSlaa trade. The good news is most roster cornerstones are safely under contract ahead of the offseason.

What Do The Detroit Lions Need To Address In The 2026 Offseason?

Need 1: Offensive line

The central strength of Dan Campbell's Lions for essentially his entire tenure in Detroit suddenly was anything but in 2025.

• 2025: PFF's 13th-ranked offensive line
• 2024: 4th
• 2023: 2nd
• 2022: 8th

Losing Frank Ragnow and Kevin Zeitler before the season certainly didn't help matters, nor did starters Christian Mahogany (6 games missed), Taylor Decker (3) and Graham Glasgow (2) all missing time due to injuries. Numerous depth pieces like Dan Skipper (retired), Kayode Awosika and Trystan Colon are hitting free agency—at a minimum this front office needs to add some youth to this once-elite group. Consider: Detroit has drafted only two offensive linemen in Rounds 1-3 over the last five drafts combined!

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Need 2: Defensive line

On the one hand, Aidan Hutchinson is elite enough to anchor this group: The former second overall pick is the NFL's only pass rusher to rack up triple-digit pressures in multiple seasons since at least 2010!

On the other hand, even Hutchinson's return to health in 2025 wasn't enough to make this group a major strength. Overall, Detroit posted mediocre marks in pressure rate (36.8%, 17th) and allowed opposing running backs to average the league's fifth-most rush yards *before* contact per carry.

Maybe Year 2 of defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard yields better results; at a minimum the team needs to work to bring back, or replace, free agents Marcus Davenport, DJ Reader, Al-Quadin Muhammad and Roy Lopez. The Lions presently have the fifth-cheapest EDGE room in the league entering 2026.

Need 3: Cornerback

The Lions love running man coverage—only the Browns utilized less zone coverage than Detroit in 2025. Because of this schematic choice, it's especially paramount for this defense to have a strong group of corners due to how often they're left on an island.

Getting full seasons out of Terrion Arnold (missed 9 games in 2025) and D.J. Reed (6) would be a nice start, although neither exactly lived up to their expensive billings: The former graded out as just PFF's 97th-ranked corner in coverage, and the latter 64th, among 122 qualified players at the position.

Throw in guys like Amik Robertson, Rock Ya-Sin, and Avonte Maddox all hitting free agency, and the Lions should think long and hard about spending one of their Day 1 or 2 draft picks on their cornerback room.

Honorable mention

Starting LB Alex Anzalone is hitting free agency and will be 32 next September. … RB David Montgomery is a cut candidate considering the Lions could save $6 million against the cap while forfeiting $2.4 million in dead money—depth to complement Jahmyr Gibbs would be needed in that case.

If I were GM …

I'd select the toughest and most physical linemen available on either side of the ball with picks No. 17 and 50. Reminder: I'm general manager in this theoretical scenario, so what better way to keep the boss man Dan Campbell happy than by giving him more massive human beings with the potential to evolve into badass knee-biters! First-round options on the offensive side of the ball include Miami OT Francis Mauigoa and Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor, while Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald and Clemson DT Peter Woods stand out as viable top-20 options on the defensive side of things.

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