Dan Campbell Monroe Freeling
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NFL.com's Eric Edholm slotted Georgia offensive tackle Monroe Freeling to Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions at No. 17 overall in the first round of his 2026 NFL mock draft.
As expected, the Detroit Lions parted ways with offensive coordinator John Morton following the 2025 NFL Season. Morton spent only a single year on the job after replacing Ben Johnson, who departed town to take the head coaching position with the divisional rival Chicago Bears.
However, Morton had his play calling duties taken away by head coach Dan Campbell midway through the campaign.
It wouldn’t be long before they found Morton’s official replacement in former Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.
While appearing at the NFL’s annual League meetings in Arizona, Campbell spoke openly about Petzing’s hiring and said it was the review of their game film over the last three years that made him an attractive option to consider to join Detroit’s coaching staff.
Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell Explains What Drew Him To Hire Drew Petzing As OC
Campbell began his comments regarding Petzing by talking about the strides that Arizona’s offense made under him.
“The first thing that drew me to him was his tape,” Campbell said from Arizona. “Anytime we had crossover tape I love what they did offensively. I loved the fact that when you really watch his tape, he’s about the matchups, man, and he’s finding them wherever he can find them.”
Campbell continue by talking about his adaptability.
“Nothing throws him off,” Campbell continued. “He’s ready to adapt and adjust to whatever you want and whatever you need. ‘We’re going to make it work. We’re going to maximize this.’ He’s been great, man. He’s been good.”
While Arizona’s offense struggled with several injuries during the most recent season,
“They had some injuries. They were limited in some areas,” Campbell said of Arizona’s offensive personnel in 2025. “And I thought he maximized what they had and what they did.
“When you listen to him and you sit down with him and you listen to him talk, he understands quarterback play, he understands tight ends, he understands O-line, he understands receivers because he’s coached all of those. So, he can coach it from the ground up.”
Drew Petzing Loves What He’s Inheriting With The Lions
Since being hired earlier this year, Petzing is clearly a fan of the offensive personnel that he’s inheriting now that he’s joined the Lions after three years with the Cardinals.
“I think it’s immense,” Petzing said about the talent level the Lions have. “There’s a lot of different directions you can take it in. Ultimately, whatever we do, we want to be really hard to defend, and we want to make sure our best players affect the game.
“The nice part in Detroit is we have a lot of those and being able to move those guys around the formation and put them in different situations and not be predictable to a defense is going to be critical to our success.”
Petzing will be tasked with getting the most out of the offensive attack for Detroit, who will have their sights set on a return to the postseason after missing out for the first time since 2023.