Pride of Detroit
Second-year offensive guard Christian Mahogany is poised to establish himself as a stalwart on the Detroit People Movers for years to come.
Our 2025 Detroit Lions roster preview continues with one of the team’s most critical new starters.
Mahogany experienced a surprising slide in the 2024 NFL Draft, but he’s already positioning himself to make the leap from Day 3 pick to Year 2 starter. If his trajectory continues, the Lions may have found yet another hidden gem in Brad Holmes’ draft classes.
Previous previews: QB Jared Goff, QB Hendon Hooker, RB Sione Vaki, RB Jahmyr Gibbs, WR Jameson Williams, WR Kalif Raymond, TE Sam LaPorta, OL Colby Sorsdal, OT Giovanni Manu, OT Penei Sewell, G Graham Glasgow, EDGE Aidan Hutchinson, DT Brodric Martin, DL Pat O’Connor, LB Malcolm Rodriguez, LB Grant Stuard, LB Jack Campbell, CB Ennis Rakestraw, CB Terrion Arnold, DB Brian Branch, LS Hogan Hatten, K Jake Bates.
Expectations heading into 2024
Christian Mahogany was widely praised as a tremendous value pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, with analysts lauding both his talent and fit within the Lions’ scheme. However, expectations for his immediate contribution were modest. The Lions’ interior offensive line appeared set with Frank Ragnow, Kevin Zeitler, and Graham Glasgow, alongside reserves Kayode Awosika and Colby Sorsdal, who each started three games in 2023.
Mahogany’s outlook dimmed further after he missed the start of rookie training camp due to mononucleosis, keeping him away from the team for an extended period.
He began the 2024 season on the reserve/non-football illness list, finally returning to the facility in late August. At the time, head coach Dan Campbell addressed his return:
“We’re going to get him going, start working him, getting his body right, getting back there with (director of sports performance) Mike Clark and (director of player health & performance Brett Fischer), Fisch and those guys, and just start getting him back in shape,” Campbell said. “He’ll be in meetings. And then once we feel like he’s in a good place physically, then we’ll probably see where it’s at there.”
Given the circumstances and the uncertainty surrounding his illness, there were no real expectations for Mahogany to contribute offensively in 2024. The focus was simply on getting him healthy, acclimated to the offense, and adjusted to NFL speed in practice. Even a handful of solid snaps in blowout relief would have been considered a success.
5 games (2 starts) – 144 offensive snaps
Stats per PFF: 1 sack allowed, 1 QB hit, 4 total pressures, 1 penalty
PFF offensive grade: 91.5 (3rd out of 107 offensive guards – min. 100 snaps)
PFF pass blocking grade: 78.7 (5th out of 140)
PFF run blocking grade: 91.1 (3rd out of 140)
The New Jersey dirtbag’s NFL journey got off to a rocky start. Mahogany's battle with mono kept him off the practice field until Week 5 and delayed his activation until Week 9.
Despite the setback, Mahogany swiftly put it all...
