Lions rookie Christian Mahogany looks like a gem after an impressive debut

On By Littum

The Detroit Lions missing starting guard Graham Glasgow in Week 16 due to injury. In his place, the Lions inserted 2024 sixth-round pick Christian Mahogany, who showed a ton of faith in the young lineman.

Prior to Chicago Bears game, it was known that Glasgow might not play. When asked about his faith in the Boston College product to start, Campbell revealed he was “comfortable” with the rookie.

“Yes, comfortable,” Campbell said of mahogany. “I would say we’re working with him and (Kayode Awosika) Yode on both of those and working on both sides and (Michael) Niese has been working for us a little bit as well. But those two we’re really comfortable with.”

When the Lions took the field on Sunday afternoon, it was Mahogany who got the nod. Before making his starting debut, Mahogany had played just three offensive snaps all season. In Week 16, Mahogany shined while playing all 65 snaps.

According to Pro Football Focusthe rookie gave up just one pressure but no sacks and posted an 82.5 pass-blocking grade. During the game, Mahogany earned a strong rating of 70.4.

Now, we don’t want to go crazy over one game, but when you consider that Mahogany didn’t play a single preseason snap and missed the first 10 games due to an illness, it’s easy to see why we’re excited.

As exciting as Mahogany’s start was, he might return to the bench in Week 17, like Glasgow, who finished off. last week with limited trainingcould return to San Francisco 49ers.

But at least Mahogany can give the Lions a reliable backup option, and he’s given the Lions hope that he could be a long-term starter down the road, which is important with veteran Kevin Zeitler set to hit free agency 2025.

Putting Mahogany at one of the two guard spots next season would save the Lions some money that would allow general manager Brad Holmes to spend on other needs.

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