The Lions could be more explosive under Drew Petzing than they were with Ben Johnson, and it would only require two changes
Detroit Lions offense may have a higher ceiling under Drew Petzing than it ever reached under Ben Johnson. It would only take two changes to unlock a level of explosiveness Detroit has been chasing for years.
The Detroit Lions offense ranked 5th in the NFL in 2025 without Ben Johnson as offensive coordinator, and new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing could push this unit even higher. Lions fans have heard the narrative all offseason. Detroit is only good because of Johnson. Jared Goff is only good because of Johnson. The Lions are “Ben Johnson merchants.” It’s one of the stranger criticisms floating around, and it doesn’t hold up when you look at what actually happened last season.
So the question becomes: what can Petzing do to make this offense better than it ever was under Johnson? I came up with two ways.
The gap scheme changes everything for Jahmyr Gibbs
Petzing’s calling card is heavy personnel and a gap-based run game. Between 2023 and 2025, his offenses ran 487 plays out of 13 personnel. That was first in the NFL. Nobody ran a heavier scheme than Petzing during that stretch, and his teams posted a 40.9% rush success rate, which ranked 7th.
The Lions thrived in zone concepts under Johnson, but the idea of adding more gap scheme alongside zone looks out of 12 and 13 personnel gives Jahmyr Gibbs more space to maneuver. And if you’ve seen what Gibbs looks like in space, you know it can change a game on a dime.
When you look at what Detroit has done in the draft and free agency, adding Tate Ratledge, Cade Mays, and Blake Miller alongside Penei Sewell, those are downhill movers. Those are the types of guys who get to the second level and block. The idea is that you constantly have space open for Gibbs to run, and if the Lions can execute that, he could be an MVP candidate. I’m not trying to be super hyperbolic, but Gibbs getting into as much space as possible is a game changer.
The addition of more 13 and 12 personnel also helps at every level of the offense: receiving, rushing, pass blocking, and run blocking. You can actually ask Ben Johnson what that looks like, because the Rams’ blueprint to beat the Bears in the playoffs last year was built on 12 and 13 personnel. Sean McVay put it out there, and Johnson’s defense couldn’t figure out how to stop it. Petzing has been doing this longer than McVay has. McVay just made it popular.
The deep ball the Lions have always wanted
This is the one that has frustrated Lions fans for years. Detroit wanted to install a vertical passing attack under John Morton. They wanted to do it under Johnson. They drafted Jameson Williams with the idea that he could be a field stretcher who beats just about anybody in a horse race. Yet in 2024, the Lions were last in the league in throws of 20-plus air yards. Only 6.3% of their passes traveled 20-plus air yards, and they ranked 29th in average depth of target.
Here’s the thing, though. When they did go deep, they hit on 48% of those passes. So I don’t know why Johnson didn’t lean into this more.
This is where the pairing of Petzing and passing game coordinator Mike Kafka matters. Kafka’s Giants offense last year had Jackson Dart averaging a 9.0 average depth of target, with 34.2% of his throws going 10-plus yards. New York was throwing deep under Kafka. They just didn’t have the quarterback accuracy or the receiver depth outside of Malik Nabers to make it work consistently.
The Lions do. Williams can go deep. Isaac Teslah can go deep. Greg Dortch can go deep. Amon-Ra St. Brown can catch the deep pass. It’s not his primary style, but he’s shown he can do it.
Petzing heading this up alongside Kafka, combined with the heavy personnel packages and the gap scheme, can finally unlock the vertical passing game. Adding that element to an already dangerous Lions offense makes it something closer to unstoppable.
You have to understand, the “Ben Johnson merchants” narrative only works if you ignore what the Lions actually are. This roster is loaded, and Petzing has the tools to take this offense somewhere Johnson never quite did. Let’s see if he does it.
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