ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) – Three times in the past five years, the Detroit Lions have drafted an offensive lineman in the first round. Now it’s time for that young group to show some real progress. With Calvin Johnson lost to retirement, the Lions still have their share of skilled offensive players in Matthew Stafford, Golden Tate and Ameer Abdullah. The big question is whether Detroit can build on its encouraging finish in 2015 – or whether the offense will look as it did when the team lost seven of its first eight games. A lot will depend on the offensive line. The Lions have had to reshuffle their line quite a bit over the past few seasons, with Jeff Backus, Rob Sims and Dominic Raiola having moved on into retirement. Detroit used valuable first-round draft picks on tackle Riley Reiff (2012), guard Laken Tomlinson (2015) and tackle Taylor Decker (2016) – and the Lions also took guard Larry Warford (2013) and center Travis Swanson (2014) in the third round. Those five players all figure to play significant roles this season as Detroit tries to recover from its disappointing 2015.
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