Arguably, the biggest impact on the Detroit Lions‘ 2026 season will be what type of impact the change at offensive coordinator makes. The team shifted from Ben Johnson to John Morton and dropped off. They are hoping to get back to a championship-quality level under new coordinator Drew Petzing.
ESPN analyst Ben Solak noted that while Petzing might not quite be the next Johnson, he does not have to be. Solak states that if Petzing can improve the run game, it is all the Lions need, and he appears to be the man to do that.
“The biggest difference was the success rate; we especially noticed the success rate issue in the ground game,” stated Solak. “The Lions were 26th in rushing success rate last year. Incredibly, they were 21st in explosive rush rate.”
Solak notes that it is hard to achieve an explosive rush rate so low with someone as explosive as Jahmyr Gibbs. However, he notes that while Petzing had worse pieces with the Arizona Cardinals, he turned the rushing attack into a quality unit.
‘They were 14th in success rate, and critically they were second in explosive rush rate, to only the Ravens,” Solak added that the Cardinals were a team that leaned into 13 personnel first as well. “Before Sean McVay made 13 personnel cool, it was the Cardinals who were leading the league in 13-personnel usage.”
If the Lions can rush the ball with the same effect as the Cardinals last year, they should see a big improvement on offense. Considering they are much more equipped to do so, it is easy to see why the excitement is so high around Petzing for the Lions.
Drew Petzing Could Improve the Detroit Lions’ Offense
GettyDrew Petzing of the Detroit Lions.
As Solak noted, the Lions’ offense was not bad last year; it was just not quite leading the league. Beyond that, the Lions missed the playoffs and finished in last place in their division, but it is hard to say that they had a bad team.
They still finished above .500. They happened to play a tough schedule and land in a tough division. A few bad breaks went against them at the wrong time, and they were out of the playoffs.
Now, the team has a last-place schedule. This gives them one of the easier schedules in the NFL, while the rest of the NFC fights through tough gauntlets.
The offensive line should be improved, and the offense will always run through Amon-Ra St. Brown and Gibbs. A lot of the potential to improve is already baked into the Lions’ situation. Petzing could be reaping the benefits.
Petzing Could Rise Quickly With the Lions
However, before things went sideways during his time with the Cardinals, he was known as a rising head coaching candidate. Petzing started his career with the Minnesota Vikings under Norv Turner. He worked with Kevin Stefanski and Klint Kubiak, two current NFL head coaches.
Petzing followed Stefanski to the Cleveland Browns and continued to rise amongst the coaching ranks. He did not have the right fit in Arizona, but this is still a coach with a strong resume and an understanding of good offense. Petzing could quickly revamp his reputation with the Lions.
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