In big year for Christian Mahogany, life is better next to Penei Sewell

This was before Christian Mahogany was drafted by the Lions. Before the Lions had signed Kevin Zeitler to play right guard in 2024. Before Mahogany made it to where he is now, playing next to one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL.

Mahogany was running a franchise in Madden with a bunch of his boys and texted the group chat prior to the 2024 draft, "Imagine myself and Penei Sewell on deuce blocks. What would that be like??’"

"I said, 'Detroit’s a premier spot,'" said Mahogany.

Now he finds himself in the the premier spot on Detroit's rebuilt offensive line. With Sewell moving from right tackle to left, Mahogany is in position at left guard to bring that Madden vision to life.

"I’ve done it once," Mahogany said, recalling his rookie season when he started next to Sewell in place of the injured Zeitler in the Lions' playoff loss to the Commanders. "I mean, sh*t, it was unreal -- even though we lost. Sucks to lose, I never want to lose in a big setting like that, but it felt so much different than what I was used to."

Different how?

"Just who he is, he’s a monster," said Mahogany. "Like, let’s all be real here. First-team All-Pro, everything, he’s the best."

Asked if teaming up with Sewell lived up to the idea, Mahogany said with a smile, "Yeah, f*ck. Running duo next to Penei Sewell is like Tier 1 in football terms. It’s the greatest thing known to man."

Mahogany thrived in two spot starts as a rookie, at either guard spot. Hopes were accordingly high when he stepped in last season as the starter on the left, between Taylor Decker and center Graham Glasgow. Mahogany was solid in the early going for a player with such scant NFL experience who hadn't played left guard consistently since his first year in college. That was in 2020.

Through his first seven games last year, Mahogany was the 16th-ranked guard in the NFL, per PFF, second among those drafted in the prior two years. The Lions were 5-2. Then he suffered a leg injury toward the end of an ugly loss to the Vikings in Week 9, and didn't look the same when he returned for the final three games. It took him some time, Mahogany said, to trust his leg again after injuring it on a routine play.

"You just gotta work through that," he said, "and now I feel great, so it all worked out."

But on the whole, Mahogany was far from pleased with his performance last season. He finished 37th out of 61 qualified guards, per PFF, and second to last in pass-blocking. "Pleased" is not how he operates.

"Once I feel pleased, I won’t be here anymore, there won’t be a Christian Mahogany in the building, so I’m never pleased. I definitely didn’t play up to who I want to be and the player I want to be and how Hank (Fraley) and Brad (Holmes) and Dan (Campbell) want me to be, so I just gotta be better in all facets of the game," he said.

Any in particular?

"Probably pass pro. That was the biggest concern," said Mahogany. "No excuses, but playing left guard for a full season, I hadn’t done that in a long time, so just working on footwork, pass pro, because I love the run. Just polishing up the pass pro a lot this summer."

To do that, Mahogany watched a lot of film. He said he zeroed in on two of his best games and what he did well, and "my worst games and what I did wrong." He took note of exactly how he was getting beat. In Mahogany's eyes, his best games came against the Ravens in Week 3 -- "We ran the piss out the ball" -- and against the Chiefs in Week 6 until he got beat in pass protection by All-Pro Chris Jones on a key fourth down.

"I felt like in the run that was my best game," he said. (PFF would agree.)

Mahogany also spent time watching film of some of the top left guards in the league, like Tyler Smith of the Cowboys. It's still a position that he's re-learning after making his way to the NFL as a right guard.

"I’m never going to put my head down and be like, 'Oh, damn, I lost.' You’re going to lose, but it’s how you lose. The biggest thing for me was just watching how I lost, fixing that and making sure it doesn’t happen again," Mahogany said.

Jared Goff was sacked a career-high 38 times last season. There was plenty of blame to be shared, including by former offensive coordinator John Morton. But Mahogany was charged with six of those sacks by PFF, most on the team. The Lions aren't handing him the starting job at left guard the way it felt like they did last year, bringing in both Ben Bartch and Juice Scruggs for competition.

Mahogany and Scruggs have shared first-team reps at left guard early in camp while Bartch recovers from an injury. Mahogany has clearly been the better of the two so far, including a couple powerful denials of Alim McNeill in 1-on-1's Monday in the first practice in pads. He only returned to practice a few days ago after starting camp on the Non-Football Injury list, but Mahogany is off to a strong start.

"Competition is beautiful -- you don't stay content," Mahogany said.

On top of the stability that comes with playing next to Sewell, Mahogany should benefit this year from practicing throughout the week between the tackle and the center who will flank him on Sundays. That wasn't always the case last year when Decker was rarely able to practice and Glasgow was staggering to the finish line. Mahogany, when healthy, probably wound up shouldering a larger load than the Lions expected.

The hope is that he's stronger for it this year. Campbell and the Lions want to reestablish themselves as a team that can run the ball and stop the run. The former starts in the trenches, said Sewell, with "technique for the O-linemen and then five working as one. Once we get those two things down at the same time, I think everything will follow nicely."

The Lions' offensive line is their engine. When it sputtered last year, the team eventually ground to a halt. Hence why they invested a three-year, $25 million contract in new center Cade Mays and a first-round pick in new right tackle Blake Miller. With Tate Ratledge entrenched at right guard, the most experienced starter is the 25-year-old Sewell. So long as it stays healthy, there's nowhere for the unit to go but up.

The same couldn't be said last year, with Decker and Glasgow nearing the end of their NFL roads. Campbell senses the same potential.

"It's a good veteran group in some areas, yet young guys that are unknown, unproven, they got an opportunity," Campbell said at the start of camp. "I feel like what comes out of that room, those five are going to be better than what we had last year. It is going to be an upgrade, and not just a little. I believe that."

"When the head man comes calling," said Mahogany, "you gotta answer the call. That’s what we’ll try to do, and that’s what we’re going to do."