While preparing for their Week 1 matchup, the New Orleans Saints are likely to experience a bit of unpredictability relative to what the Detroit Lions’ passing game will look like to kick off 2026.
The Lions of last year may undergo a major identity swing in their air attack going into this season because of the club’s hire of Drew Petzig as offensive coordinator.
There are some similarities between the 2025 Lions and Petzig when he was the Arizona Cardinals’ playcaller. Both offenses relied on targeting wide receivers on the outside (as opposed to in the slot) close to the same rate and both hovered around a 20% running back target share as well.
The offenses both focused on tempo, driving with pace, but still relying on huddling up more than a no-huddle offense.
But some of the differences could spark change from what many are used to seeing out of Detroit’s passing offense.
Pass Rate
While the Lions ranked No. 18 in the NFL in pass percentage last year, throwing the ball 58.9% of the time, Petzig’s Cardinals were the most pass-heavy offense in the NFL, going to the air on 69.5% of its passes.
One of two things will shift: Either the Lions will become more of a pass-heavy team, or Petzig will finally have a run game with running back Jahmyr Gibbs that can help to balance out his tendencies.
The Cardinals ranked No. 9 in time spent trailing last season, putting them in a lot of passing situations, which could have inflated the rate at which the team was forced to turn to the air attack.
While the rate may have been inflated by game situations, the makeup of the Cards’ attack had some striking differences from Detroit’s.
Reliance on Tight Ends
Here is one of the biggest differences fans can expect for the Lions’ passing game: A lot of it in 2026 may run through tight end Sam LaPorta and his position group.
Petzig’s offense targeted tight ends at a clip of 38.4%. While that’s still below the league’s average of around 41%, it’s far beyond the Lions’ offense of last year, which leaned on tight ends as pass-catchers just 10.3% of the time under head coach Dan Campbell, per Fantasy Points’ data tracking.
The Lions also utilized their top slot option, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown quite often in their air attack, an area where Petzig may refocus some of his previous tight end targets.
However, over the last three seasons in Arizona, Petzig’s offenses led the NFL in 12-personnel usage, lining up two tight ends more than anyone in the league over that span of time. This appears to be a large part of his offensive DNA and also follows ongoing NFL trends.
Multi-tight end sets could be one of the places the Lions look the most diverse going into this season.
From a high volume of passing, the versatile possibilities of Gibbs and St. Brown (who can each find themselves seeing a lot of work in the slot this season) and relying more on the tight end position. The Lions’ passing game will have some familiar looks, but the shifts and changes could create some wrinkles the Saints’ defense will have to decipher.
The unknown areas of the Lions’ passing attack could be their best asset, or could provide the Saints, who bring the No. 4 passing defense from last year, with their greatest advantage of the game.
Rhythm, balance and predictability will be the difference in what should be an entertaining matchups of good-on-good when the Lions look to take to the air against Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, his players and system.
