The highly vaunted offensive line of the Detroit Lions took a step back last season, playing a large role in the team's disappointing campaign. Frank Ragnow's unexpected retirement and the veteran offensive linemen's age-related declines caused the Lions to be more vulnerable in protecting Jared Goff.
That is why the trenches were a top priority for GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell in the offseason. They made an effort to revamp the offensive line, putting an emphasis on getting younger and more dynamic.
Cade Mays was the biggest addition to the offensive line. In fact, it was Detroit's most expensive free agent signing this spring, landing a three-year, $25 million deal. He will be a big swing factor for the Lions' offense next season and can be an X-factor that determines whether they can get back to being a top-five offense.
How quickly Cade Mays can adapt will be a huge factor for Lions offense
A big issue for the Lions last season was their inability to replace Ragnow at center. He was one of the best players of his position for so long, and he had built such impeccable chemistry with Jared Goff that it was one of the strongest parts of the team. Detroit tried to replace him by moving Graham Glasgow to center.
Not only did this create issues elsewhere on the offensive line, but Glasgow was also nowhere near Ragnow's level.
Therefore, it's no surprise that the Lions' top brass wanted to invest significant resources into fixing this before focusing on anything else.
The Lions' path to elite offense will go through the offensive line, most importantly, Mays' relationship with Goff.
The star quarterback said that he and Mays are beginning to spend more time together and that he wants to be "intentional about building that relationship," per Richard Silva of The Detroit News. Mays also said that it's very important for him to be on the same page as Goff and that he will be relying on the franchise QB to get him up to speed.
Campbell spoke very highly of Mays during the organized team activities, calling him a good fit for the team, saying, "He's a good-looking dude, man. He's a big man, he's built right, moves pretty good. And now it's just getting up to speed with our terminology, the MIKE points, all that."
This is a good start for Mays, to be sure, but he still has a long way to go before the Lions can feel entirely comfortable with him as the long-term starter. He has only 20 starts at center under his belt. Before then, he was mostly used at guard.
Last season, Mays graded as an average center with a 62.4 offense grade on Pro Football Focus. While that is an upgrade over what Glashow gave the Lions last year, it's still nowhere near an elite level.
Let's hope that building chemistry throughout the summer and playing on a better offensive ecosystem will unlock Mays to help him have the best season of his career.
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