After missing the 2025 NFL playoffs with a 9-8 record, the Motor City team made major changes to its coaching staff. While several changes have taken place behind the scenes, one of Detroit's biggest offensive leaders believes the transition is already paying off.

On The Insiders with Patrick Claybon and Tom Pelissero, Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown offered an encouraging assessment of his new offensive coordinator, Drew Petzing, and praised his command of the Jared Goff-led offense.

“I think Drew has, you know, great command of our offense right now,” Amon-Ra said. “Just in OTAs, you know, you're only doing so much in OTAs. You don't have pads on. You can't really run the ball. So it was a lot of passing that we were doing in OTAs, but that's, you know, a big part of the game.”

Even in his first season with the Lions, he is receiving praise from the players. 

As highlighted by Amon-Ra, Petzing has strong control over the Lions offense. He is all about making passes throughout the game to score touchdowns.

Since it was the OTAs and because players are not wearing pads and live contact is prohibited, Petzing got another opportunity to install his passing-heavy game. 

This allowed Jared Goff and the receivers to become familiar with his terminology, timing, and play-calling tendencies before training camp.

Detroit finished among the NFL's better passing offenses in 2025, with Jared Goff once again surpassing 4,000 passing yards and developing strong synchronization with the offensive lineup. 

This new pass-dominant strategy will only improve the chemistry further. 

Petzing now inherits one of the league's deepest collections of skill-position talent, making the passing game the logical foundation during offseason practices.

Ahead of the training camps, Drew Petzing’s popularity among the Lions is only increasing, as he was talked highly by the quarterback Jared Goff.

Jared Goff echoes praise for Drew Petzing

It was not just Amon-Ra St Brown who was talking highly about the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator, Drew Petzing. 

According to Eric Woodyard of ESPN, the Lions' quarterback Jared Goff also praised the new OC, Drew Petzing, after the OTAs.

"He's got a great feel for what it's like to run an offense and to run a room and how to balance volume with intentionally attacking a defense and trying to find yourself in the right plays," Goff said after OTAs. “It's hard.”

Drew Petzing was hired by the Lions' management to replace the former OC John Morton after missing the playoffs with a 9-8 record. 

Goff was really impressed by Petzing’s ability to balance aggressiveness with efficiency, he knows when to attack downfield and when not to make offensive snaps. 

"It's a lot more to it than just drawing up plays, and I think he's got that extra part to it as well as the play stuff. But the part that is outside of the X's and O's, I think he does a hell of a job with, and it's been a lot of fun."

Ahead of the 2026 NFL training camps, Petzing has earned the respect of the players, including the veteran talent of the Lions.

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Written by

Kunwar Yashaswee Chhaunker