The Detroit Lions are almost certainly going to be in the market for an offensive lineman this offseason, probably several. Whether it’s a future Taylor Decker replacement at tackle, a Frank Ragnow replacement at center, or just some competition at guard, the Lions could use all the help they can get.
Luckily, this year’s NFL Draft class is full of high-character offensive linemen that could help.
In my final installment of our Combine media session recaps, here are seven offensive linemen who will meet Detroit’s high bar for football character.
Previously:
Penn State G Vega Ioane
Size: 6-foot-4, 320 pounds
Quick bio: A three-year starter almost exclusively at left guard (but has taken snaps at all five positions), Ioane may not make to the Lions at 17 overall. He’s a mauler in the run game, but not the most athletic of the class. That said, he dropped 20 pounds in his final year as a Nittany Lion to prove he can move better and retain his strength at a lighter weight.
Current draft projection: Round 1
Combine vibes:
Ioane’s presser didn’t blow me away, but his tape is very solid. When asked about his game, he offered a lot of the platitudes you’d expect from an offensive lineman.
“You’re going to get a competitive player. When I go out there on the field, I’m an entirely different person,” Ioane said. “Gonna get a competitive player out of me, an aggressive player, and, like I said, the mentality of being the most physical guy out there.”
It was interesting to hear him say that dropping the 20 pounds in his final college year was completely his idea to see if he could maintain his strength and effectiveness while improving his movement—which he did.
Florida C Jake Slaughter
Size: 6-foot-5, 303 pounds
Quick bio: Slaughter is in the discussion for best center in this draft after posting the fifth-best PFF grade in the country among centers in 2025. He’s a smidge undersized for the position, but Slaughter makes up for it with strong technique and smarts. He was also a two-time captain for the Gators.
Current draft projection: Round 1-2
Combine vibes:
Someone must have tipped Slaughter off that there were a bunch of Lions reporters in the audience, because he played all the hits. Not only did he say he met with the Lions, but he talked about personally meeting Penei Sewell last summer.
“I’ve never seen anybody move the way he does, special movement skills,” Slaughter said.
Then, when asked about who he models his game after, he said former Lions center Frank Ragnow.
Slaughter’s intelligence was easy to detect during his press conference. What jumped out to me was the way he professed his love for falling in love with the preparation process, much like Ragnow did.
“(It’s) one of my favorite parts of (playing center),” Slaughter said. “When you sit down on a Wednesday—for us it was Wednesdays—and you start breaking down the third-down (plays), exotics—‘How are we going to communicate this? How are we going to get on the same page as the quarterback?’ So it was a lot of fun.”
Oklahoma G/C Febechi Nwaiwu
Size: 6-foot-4, 319 pounds
Quick bio: A walk-on in North Texas, Nwaiwu worked his way up to captain before transferring to Oklahoma for his last two season. Nwaiwu mostly played right guard in college, but also logged starts at right tackle and left guard. Last in his last season, he filled in at center due to injury and he exclusively repped at center in the East/West Shrine Bowl.
Current draft projection: Day 3
Combine vibes:
One of my favorite answers of the week came from Nwaiwu when asked about his leadership style. Though he was pretty soft spoken with the media, I thought his answer about being direct without being disrespectful was very intuitive.
“I’m not a person that’s quiet. I’m not a person that’s gonna allow the standard to be dropped,” Nwaiwu said. “I’m going to say something. I’m not going to be disrespectful, but I’m going to let you know, ‘Hey, you’re not living up to your potential.’”
As for his recent work at center, Like Slaughter, Nwaiwu talked about the satisfaction of a week of preparation paying off during the game.
“It’s super exciting, because I know what you’re going to do before you do it,” Nwaiwu said. “Sometimes I’ll get out there and I’ll put my hand down and give a little smirk to myself. Like, ‘Okay, he’s about to move inside.’”
Kansas State C Sam Hecht
Size: 6-foot-4, 303 pounds
Quick bio: Hecht, too, is a bit undersized at center, but counters with excellent athleticism and movement skills. He stayed loyal to Kansas State, working his way up from walk on to two-year starter at center, where he was named All-Big 12 in both seasons.
Current draft projection: Round 3-4
Combine vibes:
I asked Hecht about what the walked-on mentality means to him, and he said the magic word.
“You’ve got to have some grit if you’re a walk-on,” Hecht said. “One of the adversitites that I had I was kinda lighter in high school, gained a lot of weight my first year (in college). That summer in my freshman year, I got bad shin splints. I didn’t want to tell anyone, I didn’t want to get help from the trainers, because I was fighting for my scholarship. So, as a walk-on, I just fought through it.”
Georgia OT Monroe Freeling
Size: 6-foot-7, 315 pounds
Quick bio: Freeling will likely shine during the on-field drills due to his size, length, and athleticism. In his 16 career starts, he split between right tackle and left tackle, and really broke out in 2025 with an 85.6 PFF pass blocking grade—seventh among all offensive tackles.
Current draft projection: Round 1-2
Combine vibes:
Freeling shared a great story about how he overcame a high ankle sprain to play the very next week—and play well. Freeling was in a boot all the way through Friday of a game week, but he still begged his coaching staff to let him travel with the team, if for no other reason than to help out the backup tackles prepare. They agreed, and even made him the emergency tackle. Lo and behold, he had to step in and play 65 snaps in the game
“Game day came and (OL) coach (Stacy) Searels came up to me, and was like, ‘Hey, if you’re the emergency tackle, can you go?’ I was like, ‘Yes coach, please. Please let me go if I can,’” Freeling said. “I wasn’t really anticipating to play, but when my name was called and they needed me to go in, I was so happy to be out there.”
Clemson OT Blake Miller
Size: 6-foot-7, 315 pounds
Quick bio: The first thing anyone talks about with Miller is his incredible experience (54 starts) and ability to navigate through injuries (more on that in a second). A four-year starter at Clemson, Miller has only allowed eight sacks over those 54 starts (about one every seven games).
Current draft projection: Round 1
Combine vibes:
Like Freeling, Miller has a great overcoming injury story. I asked Miller to talk about the time he broke his wrist in spring practice. Here’s him retelling the story:
Sounds pretty gritty to me.
Like pretty much every offensive tackle draft prospect at the Combine this year, Miller pointed to Penei Sewell as one of the people he studies.
“His physicality, finish blocks, his nastiness is awesome,” Miller said.
Notre Dame OT Aamil Wagner
Size: 6-foot-6, 306 pounds
Quick bio: Wagner is probably more known for his high character than his game, but as a two-year starting right tackle at Notre Dame, Wagner provided solid play. In 2025, he was named a finalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year (courage, integrity, sportsmanship) and a semifinalist for the Wuerffel Trophy (best community service/leadership off the field).
Current draft projection: Day 3/UDFA
Combine vibes:
Wagner was one of the most impressive men I talked to down at the NFL Combine. He comes from a family who gives back to the community, and I asked him why it was so important to him.
“My parents gave me a challenge when I was young to be humanitarian, to help other people,” Wagner said. “We’re not on this earth to be selfish and be by ourselves. We’re on this Earth to give back to others. Every since I was a kid, my dad worked in a homeless shelter, my mom worked at a senior center, so giving back to our community and giving back to others is extremely important.”
That servitude to his community also translates to his leadership on the field.
“My leadership style is […] like a servant leader, willing to do anything for the guys around you, no matter what it is,” Wagner said. “I think being a servant leader translates, whether it’s a vocal leader, leader by example. In the NFL, it really translates to I’m willing to do whatever for a team. It doesn’t matter what my role is, whether it’s tackle, guard, center, jumbo tight end. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help my team out.”
And as a quirky fact, Wagner lives in Yellow Spring, a small community in Ohio that is most known for being the home of comedian Dave Chappelle. And, yes, Wagner says he runs into the comedian all the time and even grew up with his kids.
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