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The Detroit Lions have officially filled their Offensive Coordinator vacancy, but it wasn’t a name most Lions fans are familiar with. Obviously, we all wanted the McDaniel or Daboll ‘big name’ hire, and we didn’t get that. However, I don’t think that necessarily means the Lions made the wrong choice. Let’s get to know the Lions newest coach.

Drew Petzing, a Rochester New York native, started his football career all the way back in high school. He played defensive back, and was good enough to take his talents to the collegiate level. After his playing days, he began a career as a graduate assistant at Harvard before moving on to Boston College, where he met Ben Johnson. He then joined Yale’s staff as a linebackers coach before moving up to the NFL ranks.

He began his NFL career in Cleveland in 2013, where he was hired as a football operations intern. He then went to Minnesota, where he was an offensive assistant in multiple roles before becoming the full time wide receiver coach. From 2014-15 he was an offensive assistant, from 2016-17 he was the assistant wide receivers coach, then assistant quarterbacks coach in 2018 before becoming the full time wide receivers coach in 2019. During his time in Minnesota, they had one of the best overall offenses in the NFL. He helped Kirk Cousins set a franchise record for completions and helped Stefon Diggs’ and Adam Thielen’s careers take off. After Minnesota, he was hired in Cleveland as their tight ends coach in 2020, before accepting the quarterbacks coach role with the same organization the following year. In 2023, he was hired as the offensive coordinator for Arizona, joining new head coach Jonathan Gannon. This is where his talents really shined. Let’s break down each season he had as the playcaller in Arizona.

2023:

Overall:
24th in points per game
21st in offensive DVOA
22nd in EPA per play
25th in success rate

Passing:
29th in yards per attempt
23rd in pass DVOA
27th in drop back DVOA
27th in drop back success rate

Rushing:
2nd in yards per carry
9th in rush DVOA
7th in rush EPA
12th in rush success rate

Obviously, the overall statistics don’t look amazing, but Arizona was dealing with a ton of injuries. Kyler Murray missed half the season, while Brown, Wilson, Conner, and Ertz missed a combined 22 games as well. They were missing key offensive pieces throughout the season, and he still managed to have a somewhat productive offense. The passing isn’t a big issue to me, seeing as they had a backup quarterback playing for 9 games. Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t just one backup either. Josh Dobbs, Clayton Tune, Colt McCoy and Jeff Driskel all saw significant snaps during that time. Most of you should remember, this was when Dobbs had a short career resurgence before being traded to Minnesota. The run game really intrigues me, though, as this has been mentioned many times when discussing Petzing’s hire. He was able to have an elite run game without his starting quarterback and running back for a large part of the season. Generally, yards per carry is a great indicator of how the run game has been designed and called, and Arizona ranked second among all NFL teams. Even while missing 5 games, James Conner had his most efficient season where he rushed for 1,040 yards and 7 touchdowns with an average of 5.0 yards per carry. Trey McBride had his breakout season this year as well, with 81 catches for 825 yards and 3 touchdowns while Ertz was sidelined. The Cardinals offensive line has also not been great throughout his time there, being ranked 31st in 2023 by PFF, which adds to the fact he’s known for calling the run game well.

2024:

Overall:
12th in points per game
11th in offensive DVOA
10th in EPA/play
10th in success rate

Passing:
16th in yards per attempt
13th in pass DVOA
13th in dropback EPA
6th in dropback success rate

Rushing:
3rd in yards per carry
9th in rush DVOA
8th in rush EPA
10th in rush success rate

Obviously, 2024 was a much better season overall statistically in every way, and a lot of that has to do with injuries. The Cardinals right guard and right tackle missed a combined 23 games, but that was it in terms of key offensive players missing time. Arizona ranked top 15 in every overall statistic, which bodes very well for Petzing. The Cardinals were not necessarily an uber-talented team either, as the roster construction was essentially the same as in 2023, with the biggest difference being a swap of Brown for Marvin Harrison Jr., and Murray being healthy all year. They did draft a left tackle the year prior, who took over as a full time starter. They also added a few offensive line pieces in free agency, but nothing too exciting on that front. Overall, Petzing showed his abilities as an offensive coordinator this season, again specifically in the run game where the Cardinals ranked top 10 in every category. Even with the entire right side of the offensive line having injury issues, Arizona had a borderline top 10 offense. James Conner was 11th in rushing yards with 1,094 yards and added 8 touchdowns while averaging 4.6 yards per carry, while having his best receiving season of his career with 47 catches for 414 yards. He was also able to get Marvin Harrison Jr. some solid production as a rookie, with 62 catches for 885 yards and 8 touchdowns. McBride also took another step, with 111 catches for 1,146 yards and 2 touchdowns. The offensive line was better, but still not great, ranking 21st per PFF. Overall, Petzing and the Cardinals offense made a huge jump from ’23 to ’24, signaling there were some things to be excited about for Arizona’s future.

2025:

Overall stats:
23rd in points per game
24th in offensive DVOA
23rd in EPA/play
24th in success rate

Passing stats:
22nd in yards per attempt
24th in pass DVOA
20th in dropback EPA
19th in dropback success rate

Rushing stats:
19th in yards per carry
28th in rush DVOA
29th in rush EPA
28th in rush success rate

The Cardinals took a huge step back from ’24 to ’25 statistically, and it’s no surprise after reading their injury report for the season. There were many key injuries on the offensive side; QB Kyler Murray (12), RB James Conner (14), RB Trey Benson (13), RB Zonovan Knight (5), WR Marvin Harrison (5), WR Zay Jones (9), LT Paris Johnson (5), LG Evan Brown (6), RG Will Hernandez (10), RT Jonah Williams (8), and that’s not even the full list. Starting quarterback, top three running backs, number one wide receiver, and every offensive linemen other than the center missed substantial time, which is a huge reason for the Cardinals’ fall from grace offensively. Once again, the offensive line was not a strong point, ranking 26th per PFF. There isn’t a ton to get excited about by reading these stats, but some positive things did come from this season. Jacoby Brissett looked like a solid starter, Michael Wilson had his best career year with over 1,000 receiving yards, and the offense was still somewhat productive with all the injuries. Imagine if the Lions lost Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Jared Goff, Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St Brown, Taylor Decker, Christian Mahogany, Tate Ratledge and Isaac TesLaa. I’m not so sure they wouldn’t rank 32nd for every stat, as that is just an incredibly hard thing to overcome. The fact Petzing didn’t have a lot to work with, and yet they weren’t a bottom 5 offense. McBride took yet another step, with 126 catches for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns, earning himself All-Pro first team honors. The biggest gripe on this season was Petzing’s play calling, which was ridiculed at times. Also, the Cardinals lost their offensive line coach this offseason, which many believe had a huge part in the Cardinals rushing success. He left for Dallas, who had a top 10 rushing attack this season, so it’s not totally outlandish to believe that. However, Petzing and Fraley have some history, so that may not be as big of an issue.

After his first two years, the Cardinals were rightfully excited, having a top 15 offense overall, and an elite run game. Petzing even got a head coach interview after 2024, so clearly he was garnering respect around the league. However, 2025 was a bad season overall, but injuries can be looked at as the main catalyst for that.

Outlook in Detroit:

Personally, I like, but don’t love, the hire. I think Petzing is a safe option, who allows the Lions to just tweak their offense, instead of the total overhaul that was likely with a Daboll or McDaniel. What intrigues me about Petzing schematically is his usage of tight ends and under center plays overall. In his time in Arizona, the Cardinals ranked 1st in 13 personnel (3 tight ends) and 7th in total dropbacks from under center. He also really likes running the ball, while also using play action shots to keep defenses honest. Jared Goff will really enjoy that, as he is more of an under center, play action style quarterback. I just question how this will work in Detroit, as the Lions have built a three wide receiver offense, and only really have one good tight end. If Detroit wants to use more 12 or 13 personnel, they need to add tight ends, and also accept the fact that their wide receivers likely won’t have as much production, especially TesLaa. I could see TesLaa getting a small amount of usage as a tight end in certain plays and packages due to his size and blocking ability, but the point still stands. Now, this wont be a completely new thing for the Lions, as they also enjoy running the ball and using play action, we will just have to see how it effects overall passing and receiving production. With everything said, I think the Lions made the right hire for the team.

Drew Petzing wasn’t the flashy big name, but I think Campbell made a good choice. We will have to wait and see if it was the right one, but all signs point to yes right now. Lions fans, take a deep breath. We all know this season did not go as expected. Now we have to reconfigure our own expectations.

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