Dan Campbell refuses to name the winner of the Lions’ biggest training camp battle just yet: ‘This is still an ongoing battle’
Dan Campbell isn’t ready to call the Detroit Lions’ biggest training camp battle over. Just when it looked like one player had pulled away, Campbell made it clear Saturday that the competition is still very much alive. And now another name is back in the mix.
If you asked me earlier this week whether the biggest training camp battle for the Detroit Lions was over, I would have said yes. I did say yes. I wrote articles about it. I made videos about it. In my opinion, Christian Mahogany has won that left guard spot. But on Saturday, Lions coach Dan Campbell refused to say that.
Campbell was asked point-blank whether Mahogany has won the battle or is close to locking in the job. He called it an ongoing competition and noted that the Lions are getting offensive lineman Juice Scruggs back on Saturday. Campbell also said guard Ben Bartch remains in the mix.
Mahogany’s case is strong, but Detroit isn’t closing the door
So maybe it’s a situation where it feels like Mahogany has the job. He probably does, right? But the Lions still have to do their due diligence and give Scruggs more reps there, even though it would make all the sense in the world for Scruggs to be the starting center. Here’s the thing, though: Seth McLaughlin looked pretty good on Thursday night, and when Campbell was asked about him, he said he certainly wasn’t disappointed. I would not be shocked if McLaughlin continues to get first-team reps going forward, and if that’s the case, now there’s a battle at center as well.
Scruggs has his foot in both puddles here, and I don’t know where he’s going to wind up. It made sense that he would be the starting center once we learned that Cade Mays was going to be out. But McLaughlin’s emergence complicates that picture.
Miles Frazier appears to be falling out of the conversation
Miles Frazier seems out of the left guard battle at this point. I think it’s safe to say he’s probably not going to be considered for this job. Detroit has utilized him more at right guard and tried him at tackle during camp, and then on Thursday night he had a rough game. Three holding calls, including one that wiped out a third-and-19 conversion by Tom Kennedy. You just can’t have it. It’s hard to see, and you definitely don’t want it.
What about Bartch?
Now you start thinking about what happens if Bartch can win this job. It’s not crazy, because Bartch has been a pretty good left guard in the NFL. The issue has always been injuries, and the fact that he still hasn’t practiced with the Lions on day 12 of training camp lends itself to that concern. But if he can get out there and stay healthy, I think there’s a real case for him. Mahogany has been very good in the run game, but he struggles in pass protection, and you want somebody who’s going to be more balanced. Bartch has shown he can be balanced in both departments.
The fact that the Lions are not ready to end this competition on day 12 is telling, and maybe we’ll see more combinations this week. With Scruggs back and hopefully Bartch getting on the practice field, we should start getting a better idea of who’s won this battle.
If you ask me, Mahogany has looked pretty good this summer, and Bartch would have to have a strong showing to beat him out. I still think Scruggs is fighting for that center job more than the left guard spot. But we’ll see what happens. There’s still a lot of camp left and 2 preseason games to go, with the Lions less than a month away from the regular-season opener against the Saints. Who’s going to be starting at left guard when that day comes?
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