A golden opportunity awaits Christian Mahogany heading into next season.
When the Detroit Lions selected guard Christian Mahogany in the sixth round (No. 210 overall) of the 2024 draft, he stood out as an intriguing prospect. He wasn’t expected to start immediately on one of the NFL’s top offensive lines, and the reasons behind his fall to the sixth round were somewhat puzzling.
However, Mahogany’s rookie season was derailed by a prolonged battle with mononucleosis, which kept him on the NFI list until nearly November. Once he made it onto the 53-man roster, he quickly became the Lions’ primary backup at guard.
Mahogany ended up starting two games last season, one at each guard position. In Week 16 against the Chicago Bears, stepping in at left guard for Graham Glasgow, he earned a top-10 Pro Football Focus grade among guards while surrendering just one pressure across 33 pass-blocking snaps.
He started again at right guard during the Divisional Round playoff loss to the Washington Commanders, replacing the injured Kevin Zeitler. Once more, he demonstrated his potential as a future starter, earning PFF grades above 90.0 in both overall performance and run blocking.
With Zeitler departing in free agency, Mahogany is now the frontrunner to take over the starting right guard spot for the Lions next season. Glasgow’s struggles last season, after switching to left guard to accommodate Zeitler’s arrival, leave him susceptible to competition.
Regardless, Mahogany is all but guaranteed to be a starting guard for the Lions next season. So when Pro Football Network highlighted one player from each NFL team most likely to step up in 2025, he was the obvious choice for Detroit.
As PFN pointed out, the Lions may still seek a veteran guard as a backup plan in case Mahogany isn’t quite ready for a full-time starting role. That said, he would have to suffer a significant setback or an injury to lose his firm grip on a starting position—whichever side of center Frank Ragnow he ultimately plays on.