Detroit Lions football under Dan Campbell has largely been rooted in trench play. For a team that boasts its physicality and grittiness, it makes sense for them to develop an identity that starts with the offensive and defensive lines. As they’ve said from the beginning, it all starts with running the ball and stopping the run—things you cannot do without strong trench play.
“This is probably the deepest that we’ve been probably on both sides of the line of scrimmage,” Holmes told “Good Morning Football” on Friday. “We were able to get younger on the offensive line, we’ve got a lot of good depth in the secondary and on the defense, as a whole. So with what we already had established on offense, we feel really, really good about where we’re at right now.”
This offseason has certainly been focused on those trenches both in free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft.
On offense, there was a clear and necessary youth movement. Detroit released Graham Glasgow (33 years old) and Taylor Decker (32), and replaced them with free agent signing Cade Mays (27) and first-round pick Blake Miller (22).
“In terms of just his makeup and intangibles, he fits us like a glove,” Holmes said of Miller. “You’re talking about a guy that rarely missed a practice and when he did he didn’t feel great about it. He didn’t feel great about it because he felt like he was letting his teammates down. So those are the type of guys we want in our locker room.”
Beyond that, Detroit also filled out their reserves with strong players. Veteran Larry Borom now gives the Lions a swing tackle option who started 11 games last year and played well over that time. Ben Bartch and Juice Scruggs gives Detroit experienced players who can step into the lineup if injuries occur. And with a ton of young options at each guard position, if those players can develop as expected, Detroit will have youthful starting options for years to come.
The defensive side of the ball also got some attention, but not as much. They again got younger on the edge, with DJ Wonnum (28) and Derrick Moore (23) replacing Al-Quadin Muhammad (31) and Marcus Davenport (29). But there haven’t been clear one-to-one replacements on the interior for free agency losses DJ Reader and Roy Lopez. They’re obviously hoping for growth from second-year defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, and 26-year-old signing Jay Tufele could also provide some support.
Regardless, they Lions have shown a clear investment in the trenches. And if they can even capture some of the magic of the 2023 and 2024 seasons, they could be right back in the category of contenders after a disappointing 2025 season.