The Detroit Lions have the fifth-best supporting cast in the NFL. Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports ranked the best groups for any quarterback to be supported by, and the Lions cracked the top five.
The debate in Detroit has raged on about how good Jared Goff is, and this will add fuel to the fire that says that he is not quite good enough to put them over the edge. When Goff had a great supporting cast with the Rams, they were consistently in the playoffs, and now that he has a supporting cast with the Lions, they are contenders. However, once the supporting cast starts to struggle, Goff does not lift the team, and they come up short in big moments.
The Detroit Lions Have Put Jared Goff in a Position to Win
Amon-Ra St. Brown led the Lions in receiving
With an offensive coordinator change, some offensive line shaking up, and not everyone hitting at the right time, the Lions failed to make the playoffs in 2025. Goff was fully healthy, but he was unable to overcome the lack of a supporting cast.
The good news is that the roster looks better heading into 2026. The offensive line needed a year to transition, but both Christian Mahogany and Tate Ratledge are much more experienced than a year prior. Cade Mays and Blake Miller are high-potential additions to the offensive line, and the unit could end up being just as good as it was when the Lions were making playoff runs back in 2024.
The team cannot predict the health status of Sam LaPorta, and we do not know for sure how good the hire of offensive coordinator Drew Petzing was. However, based on how things went last year, it is easy to have higher expectations for Petzing, and LaPorta has typically been healthy, so if they can get him back to his old ways, they have a great roster.
A rebuilt offensive line, an improved offensive coordinator, and a healthy up-and-coming tight end joining Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs is one of the best groups in the NFL.
Jared Goff Does Not Have Excuses if Lions Stuggle in 2026
If the Lions struggle again in 2026, it is going to be hard to continually blame the pieces around Goff, and at some point, the team will have to start looking at their star quarterback. He is firmly in the good, but not quite good enough tier of player, and they have consistently put strong supporting casts around him without the big plays that put the team over the edge.
The team is committed to Goff beyond this year, so it is not a make-or-break season, but the noise will get loud if he comes up short again this year.
Unfortunately for the Lions, while they have a great supporting cast, all of the top four groups come from the NFC. The Los Angeles Rams, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, and Philadelphia Eagles join the Lions at the top of the NFL. So, even with a great group of skill players, it is not going to be easy to win in 2026.
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