For all of the changes in the Detroit Lions’ offensive line, it felt like left tackle was the fulcrum. The Lions lost Kevin Zeitler to the Tennessee Titans in free agency last spring and Frank Ragnow to retirement during offseason team activities. Still, the biggest concern when the regular season began was the status of Taylor Decker.
Decker injured his shoulder early in the year, and while the Lions did a good job by managing his practice reps, he finally wasn’t able to answer the bell, missing Sunday’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals. In his place was second-year player Giovanni Manu, who was seen as a project when he was selected in the fourth round of the 2024 draft and still showed signs of being a ways away with an inconsistent preseason.
On Sunday, Manu showed little progress from a rough preseason and was the weakest link in an overall great day for the Lions.
Giovanni Manu’s Rough Day vs. Bengals Raises Big Questions for Lions’ Offensive Line
Pro Football Focus gave Manu a decent overall review on the day. with a 64.3 overall grade on 62 total snaps and a 67.6 run-blocking grade on 34 snaps. Unfortunately, Manu showed deficiencies in the pass blocking department, where he struggled to slow down Bengals All-Pro Trey Hendrickson.
Manu had 28 pass-blocking snaps on Sunday, and while he didn’t allow a quarterback hit or hurry, Hendrickson batted 1.000 when he got past him, logging a pair of sacks to put quarterback Jared Goff on the turf. One of the sacks came in the first quarter when the Lions were driving with a 7-0 lead and Goff coughed up the football, giving the Bengals an extra possession.
With Bengals QB Jake Browning starting in place of the injured Joe Burrow, Manu's disappointing effort didn’t burn the Lions on Sunday. This could be a sign of the 24-year-old blocker's long-term future, which may move Penei Sewell to the left side and put Manu on the right side, where he doesn’t have to protect Goff’s blind side.
Head coach Dan Campbell hinted that more playing time could be in Manu's future when talking about Decker’s progress in recovering from his injury. Detroit's bench boss said that there have been “diminishing returns every week,” via Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News.
Those comments make it seem like Decker could be looking at a stint on injured reserve, which would knock him out for the next four games. If that happens, Manu will have to step up and play better than he did on Sunday if the Lions want to keep the offensive line one of the strengths of their team despite Decker’s injury.