Even without Kenny Clark, Packers can take advantage of Lions interior line

Losing a stalwart starter may hurt the Green Bay defense at times, but against a Detroit interior still figuring out who will play, Jeff Hafley has a clear lane to attack.

“I’m not telling.”

That was Jeff Hafley’s response with a wry smile when asked about the different ways he can use Micah Parsons. Even if Parsons is on a snap count, expect a diverse call sheet for a player who has proven he’s capable of disrupting games from anywhere a defensive coordinator lines him up.

“I think we’ll just continue to build and go from there. But to tell you right now, all the ways I can use him, one, I’m not going to do that, and two, I think we’re going to evolve and figure it out as we do get going. But he is obviously—he’s capable of doing a lot of different things and affecting a lot of different areas of the field.”

That unknown plays to Hafley’s favor, but the Green Bay Packers defense also catches the Detroit Lions at the perfect time: early, in the midst of flux. Ben Johnson’s offense revitalized Jared Goff’s career, unleashing one of the most helacious offenses to defend in the NFL over the last two seasons, thanks in large part to the most dominant offensive line in the league West of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. With worrying turnover hitting that group, and the injection of the ultimate queen-on-the-chessboard pass rusher to the Packers, Week 1 is the perfect time for Hafley’s group to take advantage.

Frank Ragnow held this stellar group together. My colleague Matt Dery, host of Locked on Lions, regularly called Ragnow the MVP of the Lions team. Not just the offensive line or the offense … the whole team.

He retired in the offseason, leaving an enormous question mark behind. Brad Holmes drafted Georgia standout Tate Ratledge as first man up to try, but the Lions abandoned that experiment after just a few days of camp.

Kevin Zeitler, who has quietly been one of the most consistent guards in the NFL for the last decade, left in free agency to be replaced by the aforementioned Ratledge. The rookie will play his more familiar guard position. That leaves Graham Glasgow, the team’s worst offensive lineman last year, to fill in at center.

Glasgow posted the worst run blocking grade in the NFL in the second half of last season, as charted by Pro Football Focus. Don’t just take their word for it, his play inspired football think pieces, like one titled “Graham Glasgow's decline forces the Lions into a tough spot at guard.”

That’s the guy replacing the team’s MVP.

And the third member of the interior will be Christian Mahogany, a second-year player and first-time preferred starter. He played well in limited reps last year, but he’s still a first-time starter.

All of this exists outside of a coordinator change that could upend the entire power dynamic in the NFC. That’s not hyperbole. In a survey of defensive coaches by The Athletic, Ben Johnson finished third as the hardest playcaller to prepare for, behind only Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay.

Sure, the Lions have superlative talent, but so do the Philadelphia Eagles. They finished 12th in passing DVOA in 2023, and 14th last year with what was supposed to be an upgrade at coordinator. If the Lions go from a top-five passing offense by efficiency to middle-of-the-pack, that would likely represent an enormous dropoff in their overall efficiency.

Philly offset that issue with a historic running back season and the best defense in the NFL. Detroit could do that, too! The defense brings back Aidan Hutchinson and added D.J. Reed this offseason, but they’re dealing with a defensive coordinator change as well. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery form the most formidable running back duo in the NFL, but they’ve had the luxury of playing behind that glass-chewing, boulder-moving offensive line.

What happens if that’s no longer the case?