For the past few years, the Lions came to take these words as a given: "Our O-line has gotta be able to move the line of scrimmage," Dan Campbell said Wednesday. "And we gotta be able to anchor in the middle."
It hasn't quite looked the same in camp. With Frank Ragnow and Kevin Zeitler gone from the interior, and left tackle Taylor Decker still working his way back from shoulder surgery, Detroit's offensive line isn't generating the same push off the ball.
Christian Mahogany is doing his best to change that. Or, to ensure that things don't change at all.
"I’ve loved run-blocking since college," Mahogany said Wednesday. "Ever since I started playing offensive line in high school, that’s when I learned, watching tape of the guys that I learned from at a young age, that’s how they blocked, so just trying to emulate a lot of that."
Mahogany plays with a mean streak. You can tell he spent the offseason training with Penei Sewell. You can also tell he grew up watching Larry Allen of the Cowboys, the Hall of Fame guard who played for his dad's favorite team. That's why Mahogany wears No. 73. When he switched from D-line to O-line in high school, Mahogany also started modeling himself after All-Pro tackle Trent Williams when found that Williams was one of the highest-rated players at his position in Madden.
"I just watched those guys and tried to get their aggressiveness, see how they block," said Mahogany. "And then it’s about your technique."
It's here that Mahogany is still honing his game. His inexperience shows, now and then, in the form of a false step in pass-protection or an assignment error in the Lions' multi-layered run game. Their offense deploys every kind of run scheme, which means "we ask a lot of those guys" up front, said Campbell. He has to keep reminding himself that Mahogany is basically a rookie.
"He didn’t go through preseason last year. He got two games, that’s good, but it’s not like he's going on year five," said Campbell. "He’s a young player that just needs reps, and with every rep he gets better and better and better."
Mahogany missed his first NFL training camp and the first half of his first season due to an extended bout with mono. He was activated in Week 9, made an impressive debut in place of the injured Graham Glasgow in the Lions' Week 16 win over the Bears, and played well again in place of the injured Zeitler in their playoff loss to the Commanders. It was a pretty big statement in a very small sample.
"He showed some promise last year," Brad Holmes said Wednesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "It was in spurts. He was sick early and came on late. But now that he’s had the full offseason, he hasn’t missed time, he’s had a great camp. You have hope and optimism, you’ve only seen a little bit, but what he’s shown so far, he’s doing a great job."
The Lions have had a tough time in camp trying to pound the ball up the middle. Nose tackle DJ Reader has been a roadblock, while reminding the offense every chance he gets that "Exit 98 is always closed!" (A nod to his number.) But the Lions have found some success running behind Mahogany, who teamed up with Glasgow in last week's scrimmage to pave a few lanes for Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery on a mostly dominant day for the defense.
"Competition’s a blessing," said Mahogany. "It makes you non-complacent, because if you’re just expected to be in your role you might take maybe a play or two off. I’m trying my best to kick that out of my game, finish, do what the coaches want. Competition fuels me."
The technique will continue to come, not that it's a weakness. Mahogany was once viewed as one of the top guard prospects in the 2023 NFL draft after a terrific sophomore season at Boston College, before a torn ACL wiped out his junior season and dented his stock. He returned to earn first-team All-ACC honors as a senior -- without allowing so much as a quarterback hit in 12 games -- but fell to the Lions in the sixth round.
As for the nastiness, tenacity and finish that the Lions demand up front?
"He’s got all of that," said Campbell. "He’s got every bit of that."