The first player the Lions drafted under Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell was Penei Sewell. The first player they extended was Frank Ragnow. Their identity has always been tied to their offensive line, which has grown into one of the best in the NFL.
"We’re firm believers that that’s where the game is won," Holmes said on Thursday, a week from the NFL Draft. "I’m sure you’ve heard that before. But that’s the foundation, that’s the core of our team."
Last year, the Lions' offensive line fueled a top-five passing attack and a top-five rushing attack. Only the 49ers could say the same. While they lost guard Jonah Jackson in free agency, the Lions may have upgraded by replacing him with Pro Bowler Kevin Zeitler. With Taylor Decker and Graham Glasgow back as well, Detroit's starting five is as good as any in the game.
"We feel really good about our offensive line now," said Holmes. "We love what we did in free agency and I feel like we could line down and play now and be totally fine. If we do add somebody, it’s going to be hard to crack one of those big boys up front."
But they're starting to age. Zeitler is entering his 13th season, Decker and Glasgow their 10th and Ragnow his seventh. Ragnow, the anchor of the unit at center, has taken a beating the last three seasons and has a chronic toe injury. Only Sewell, the 23-year-old All-Pro right tackle, can be counted on for several more seasons to come. A current strength feels like a long-term need.
"That’s always going to be the utmost importance," said Holmes. "That’s something that’s hard to overlook. I don’t care who you’ve got at quarterback. I don’t care if you have more of a pocket guy, a scrambler, I don’t care what it is. Offensive line is critical. When you don’t have them, it can make life hard in a lot of different areas."
The Lions have Jared Goff at quarterback, which only adds to the importance of the offensive line. With time, he's one of the best in the business. Without it -- call it what it is -- he's one of the worst. And they have an offense built on the run game to set up the play-action pass. One injury up front could derail their season, a daunting reality for a team with Super Bowl ambitions.
All to say, it's not hard to see the Lions doubling down on thier most valuable position group in next week's draft. The top three interior offensive linemen are projected to come off the board right around Detroit's first pick at No. 29: Graham Barton from Duke, Jackson Powers-Johnson from Oregon and Zach Frazier from West Virginia.
"They're three kind of distinctly different players, but I think all three of them are excellent," NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said Wednesday. "And I think all three of them are ready to start right away."
Jeremiah said that teams around the league have "these three guys paired together" in advance of the draft. The challenge is sorting out specific fits for each one.
"If you asked me who's the Lion in the group, I would say Frazier. The four-time state champ wrestler. A guy who's got a tenacity and a physicality to play to and through the whistle. He kind of fits their style there. I think he's worthy being taken there in the bottom of the first round. I have no problem with that at all," said Jeremiah.
Frazier was a three-year starter at center for West Virginia and could also play guard in the NFL. So could Barton, who was a stalwart left tackle at Duke. Jeremiah called Barton "the best athlete of the three" and said he could hold down any of the five offensive line spots at the next level.
"I think he's best at center, but he can survive at tackle if you needed him to. I think he's fully capable of playing guard as well," Jeremiah said. "He's the best in space, change in direction, just overall athleticism. He's really, really talented there."
Powers-Johnson is the biggest of the three, a 328-pound giant who won the Rimington Trophy last season as the nation's top center. He's known for his ability to "set a firm pocket" in the pass game, said Jeremiah, than for being a "mauler-brawler in the run game." He wore No. 58 at Oregon, just like Sewell.
"He's not a poor athlete, he's just not the athlete the other two guys are out in space," said Jeremiah. "But he's a physical, strong, sturdy presence in the middle who you'll be able to set a nice deep pocket with."
Who knows whose name the Lions call at No. 29 next week, barring a trade. Just don't be surprised if it's one of these three.