The Lions have had one of the league's elite offenses for years now. Last season, they ranked 1st in scoring and 2nd in total yards. But it's fair to be a little concerned about 2025 today.
Center Frank Ragnow is retiring at the age of 29, an unexpected development. Ragnow is a four-time Pro Bowl center and a 2nd-team All Pro in three of those years. He missed nearly all of the 2021 season due to injury, but has missed a total of four games the last three seasons. But he's played through injuries at times, and says "It's time to prioritize my health and my family's future."
The Lions have had one of the league's best offensive lines in recent years, a key to their team performance. These things can be difficult to quantify (things like yards per attempt, with the Lions were 6th in last year, and sacks allowed, which they were 10th in, help their case, but also have to do with the running backs and quarterbacks working behind the line), but it's hard to find a metric that doesn't make Ragnow and the rest of the team's line look good.
One file we maintain is team rushing inside the 10-yard-line, showing how successful teams are (or aren't) with their carries in that money area of the field. The Lions last year had 66 carries from inside the 10, and 22 of them resulted in touchdowns. Only the Bills scored more touchdowns on running plays down there than Detroit, and only five teams scored on a higher percentage of those runs. Seems reasonable to give the center a healthy amount of credit for that success. Ragnow has some big shoes to fill. (Table sorted by rushing TDs inside the 10.)
| TEAM RUSHING INSIDE THE 10, 2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EZ% |
| Buffalo | 60 | 149 | 2.48 | 24 | 40.0% |
| Detroit | 66 | 142 | 2.15 | 22 | 33.3% |
| Washington | 70 | 161 | 2.30 | 21 | 32.9% |
| Green Bay | 60 | 119 | 1.98 | 20 | 33.3% |
| Philadelphia | 71 | 116 | 1.63 | 18 | 29.6% |
| Atlanta | 54 | 99 | 1.83 | 16 | 33.3% |
| Baltimore | 45 | 117 | 2.60 | 16 | 37.8% |
| San Francisco | 57 | 114 | 2.00 | 16 | 28.1% |
| Indianapolis | 59 | 95 | 1.61 | 15 | 27.1% |
| Carolina | 42 | 85 | 2.02 | 14 | 35.7% |
| LA Rams | 43 | 81 | 1.88 | 14 | 32.6% |
| LA Chargers | 48 | 95 | 1.98 | 13 | 27.1% |
| Pittsburgh | 53 | 78 | 1.47 | 13 | 24.5% |
| Tampa Bay | 43 | 95 | 2.21 | 13 | 30.2% |
| Arizona | 34 | 73 | 2.15 | 12 | 44.1% |
| Denver | 33 | 66 | 2.00 | 11 | 33.3% |
| Jacksonville | 40 | 73 | 1.83 | 11 | 27.5% |
| Kansas City | 40 | 65 | 1.63 | 11 | 27.5% |
| New Orleans | 31 | 81 | 2.61 | 11 | 35.5% |
| NY Giants | 35 | 71 | 2.03 | 11 | 31.4% |
| Chicago | 33 | 39 | 1.18 | 10 | 30.3% |
| Seattle | 35 | 49 | 1.40 | 10 | 28.6% |
| Cincinnati | 45 | 59 | 1.31 | 9 | 22.2% |
| Houston | 41 | 56 | 1.37 | 9 | 22.0% |
| Las Vegas | 36 | 51 | 1.42 | 9 | 27.8% |
| Miami | 39 | 19 | .49 | 8 | 20.5% |
| Cleveland | 32 | 70 | 2.19 | 7 | 21.9% |
| Minnesota | 36 | 14 | .39 | 7 | 19.4% |
| New England | 29 | 40 | 1.38 | 7 | 24.1% |
| Tennessee | 26 | 67 | 2.58 | 7 | 30.8% |
| Dallas | 26 | 33 | 1.27 | 6 | 23.1% |
| NY Jets | 19 | 35 | 1.84 | 4 | 31.6% |
Where do the Lions go from here? They drafted Tate Ratledge out of Georgia in the second round. He was a guard, but predraft analysis considered him a possibility at center, and maybe that (and perhaps insight to Ragnow's status) was a factor in his selection. He's big (6-6, 308) and is the type of high-motor player that brings more to the table than his athleticism alone suggests. If nothing else changes on the roster, he's probably the Week 1 center.
But it's an important enough position that the Lions might well look to bring in a veteran. A situation to monitor closely in the preseason.
--Andy Richardson