The right side of the Detroit Lions' offensive line will look completely different in 2017, and the franchise is hoping that could fix the team’s long-ailing running game.
Out are right tackle Riley Reiff to division rival Minnesota and right guard Larry Warford to New Orleans. In are right tackle Rick Wagner from Baltimore and a to-be-determined starter at right guard. Who that is might end up determining whether or not this line shift on the line is really going to work.
Wagner was a strong signing as the top available offensive tackle in the market -- essentially ensuring Reiff would be moving on. The Warford question is a bit more difficult. He was Detroit’s best offensive lineman during the past few years and while he dealt with injuries, his availability was never an overwhelming concern.
He gave the Lions a reliable run-blocker and very able pass protector. He did all this while playing with a rotation of players next to him at right tackle during his four years in Detroit, from undrafted rookies in LaAdrian Waddle and Cornelius Lucas to journeyman Garrett Reynolds, veterans in Corey Hilliard and Jason Fox and then, this season, Reiff, Lucas and Corey Robinson.
Despite the consistent turnstile next to him, Warford continued to play well. He is a smart player, and the Lions will miss him. He could be tough to replace.
The Lions are going to have a few different ways to try and fill the gap in the right side of the line left by Warford. The in-house options are either second-year player Joe Dahl or former first-round pick Laken Tomlinson.
Tomlinson played right guard throughout his time at Duke and it has always appeared to be his more natural position, so the Lions could be hoping for a big jump in his third year in that position. Dahl was a project last year – something Detroit expected – but his athleticism could help push him into a starting role.
There also are outside options. The draft could be a possibility, although it would again give the Lions a very young offensive line and that’s something Detroit wants to avoid. The other option would be in free agency, and that’s where the Lions could actually upgrade the right side pretty strongly.
T.J. Lang is already on his visit with the Lions and if Detroit can nab him – as long as his physical checks out from his hip surgery – that would ensure a successful free agency period for general manager Bob Quinn and the Lions for the second straight year.
