Grit. Violence. Market Inefficiencies. Christian Mahogany is the Ideal Detroit Lions Draft Pick
The Detroit Lions once again snagged a player who was falling in the draft after a serious injury, will it pay off?
The world came crashing down for Christian Mahogany during the summer of 2022. The highly touted guard was set to be a leader on a Boston College football team with a ton of potential. His draft stock was high, with some analysts expecting him to hear his name called in the first round in the following NFL Draft. There was not much standing between him and living out his dreams. A kid that once modeled his game after highly rated offensive lineman he found on Madden, such as Trent Williams, Orlando Pace and Zach Martin, was ready to join their ranks in future editions of the game.
And then, a freak injury during a pick-up basketball game derailed his career.
It took some time for the starlet offensive lineman and his friends to realize the severity of his injury. They called his mom, Francine Cerniglia, and helped him single-leg-hop to the backseat of a car. He’d later learn that he tore his ACL, a devastating knee injury that would cost him his 2022 season and put a dent in his draft stock.
“He was crying some days,” Cerniglia told the school’s student newspaper. “He took it hard.”
But Mahogany didn’t dwell on the injury. He got back to work, preparing for the 2023 season in the summer of 2022.
“There's always struggles that go with suffering an injury that threatens your livelihood,” Matthew Applebaum, Mahogany’s offensive line coach at Boston College, and former Miami Dolphins offensive line coach, told Bird’s Eye Football. “But I thought he did a great job handling it, and he was able to come back stronger than ever.”
Mahogany was a member of a huge turnaround for the Eagles in 2023. They finished with a winning season and won the hometown Fenway Bowl, turning around their fortune after going 3-9 in the previous campaign that Mahogany missed.
The big-bodied guard was the best run blocker on one of the nation’s elite rushing teams. Boston College ran for nearly 200 yards every game last year — leading the ACC and finishing ninth among Power 5 teams.
He didn’t miss a step in his return to football, hitting the ground running after a long 15 months on the sideline.
"I have to go back out there and show that I'm better than what I was," he told ESPN before the season.
Everyone around the guard credits two key traits for the success he’s had so far — and for why he might have success in the NFL — his loyalty, and the way he brings violence on the field.
"I was shocked… I didn't think he would still be there at that point.” Brad Holmes, general manager of the Detroit Lions, said in a press conference after selecting Mahogany in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
The guard’s fall in the NFL draft was a surprising one. He was mocked as a late day 2, early day 3, pick by many analysts. But as the rounds continued to pass, the 23-year-old remained on the board. For much of day 3, he was featured as the “Best Prospect Available” on the board of a number of live draft trackers.
The reason for Mahogany's fall remains unclear. Holmes alluded during the conference that he knew something more than the public, but couldn’t reveal it.
What it could have been was injury concerns. Reports began to emerge after the draft that something in Mahogany's medicals seemed to have scared teams away. Brandon Thorn, an offensive line expert at the Substack Trench Warfare, said after the draft that there is something “concerning” that he was not aware of before the draft process.
How significant these medical issues could be still isn’t clear. But Mahogany has already shown once that he can come back from a devastating injury.
“Everything happens for a reason,” he said during a Zoom call with reporters. “I really do feel like this is one of the best spots for me. Just being able to get picked where I got picked is a blessing in itself.”
He noted the Lions talented offensive line room, widely regarded as one of the best in the NFL, as a reason he was excited to join the Lions. While interior offensive line depth remains a need for Detroit, their trio of starters in the middle of their line — Frank Ragnow, Graham Glasgow and newly acquired Kevin Zeitler — is unrivaled.
“It’s gonna be special for me,” Mahogany said.
“Whenever a guy goes to college to the NFL there’s a jump involved, and they're not capable of understanding until they go through it,” Applebaum told Bird’s Eye Football. “And being around people [like Ragnow, Glasgow and Zeitler] gives you a great leg up.”
He also cites the influence of Hank Fraley as a potential key to Mahogany's development. Fraley, the Lions’ offensive line coach since the 2020 season, is one of the most highly regarded positional coaches in the league. Brought onto the staff by Matt Patricia as an assistant, he was promoted to lead the offensive line room before the final year of the doomed head coach’s tenure.
Even as the Lions cleaned out Patricia’s staff after unceremoniously firing him late in the 2020 season, they hung on to Fraley. It’s a move they are still today receiving dividends for. Fraley has overseen the incredible development of offensive tackle Penei Sewell into one of the league's best — and highest paid — tackles. He helped Jonah Jackson develop into a highly sought after guard in the free agent market, and helped Glasgow get his career back on track after returning to Detroit.
“We have one of the best offensive line rooms in the NFL,” Mahogany said, after correcting himself when he first referred to the Lions as “they”. Now he is a part of the “we”, one of the most renowned units in the league.
That the Lions even selected Mahogany out of Boston College at all nearly did not happen.
The guard could have left for the pros in 2022, but decided to stick around for his redshirt junior year. It was that summer where he suffered what he describes as a “freak injury” that set him back. Applebaum said the guard was set to go pro in 2023, and then the injury put a damper on things.
Almost immediately after getting hurt, he made it clear that his plan was to return to Boston College in 2023, passing on the draft once again — and also the transfer portal along with the NIL riches that could be at the other side of it.
“I’m going to leave no doubt on my college career. Especially after an injury like this, I’m going to prove that I can still do it,” he told ESPN during summer 2022.
But the temptations to leave Chestnut Hill for greener pastures came aplenty.
“He certainly had suitors coming after him,” Applebaum revealed.
Throughout the 2022 season, rumors swirled that the Eagles’ highly touted offensive lineman was on the way out. He was Boston College’s best player alongside receiver and current Baltimore Raven Zay Flowers. A player who was largely overlooked as a three star recruit coming out of New Jersey was set to get a chance to play big time games at a massive program down south if he wanted to.
But to the surprise of all, he stayed put. He even made a satirical goodbye video to fans, posted to the platform then known as Twitter, to announce he planned to stay.
“I’m a very loyal person,” he told Lions reporters. “I coulda take the easy way out and done something that maybe in the moment is the sexy thing to do, but i wanted to stay and win at Boston College”
“Christian is a very, very loyal man,” Applebaum said. “He saw staying at Boston College as what was best for him and also what was the loyal thing to do.”
Buying into the program is an important factor for head coach Dan Campbel’s Detroit Lions. They are a team that, more than any other in the NFL at the moment, values culture. Much ink has been spilled about how it can be a tough place to play, though highly rewarding for players that truly buy in. Hard workers will also be handsomely rewarded — just look at the nine-figure deals handed to Sewell and wide receiver Amon Ra St. Brown.
Hard work runs through the guard’s veins. His mother told the school paper late last year that she rarely misses a day working at the family restaurant in Paterson, New Jersey.
“You had to pull your weight kind of, you know, everybody in our family kind of worked it,” Cerniglia said of the Mahogany's.
Those familiar with the Eagles program have sung Christian’s praises as a guy who did things the right way. Who showed up whenever he was needed. He would not lead with his words — the guard wasn’t the type to lead the pre-game locker room speech — but with his actions everyday.
And Mahogany was very much bought into the program at Boston College. While not highly regarded as a breeding ground for NFL talent, the Eagles have produced two first round draft picks at guard in the last five years. Mahogany cites players such as Chris Lindstrom — picked 14th overall by the Atlanta Falcons in 2019 — and Zion Johnson — Mahogany’s teammate who was selected 17th overall in 2022 — as inspirations.
"BC took a chance on me, and we're an O-line school at the end of the day, so why would I leave just to be a six-month rental when I could just build something special here?" he told ESPN before the 2023 season.
He also has another feature the Lions brass loves. A chip on his shoulder.
"I can't look [my teammates] in the face and say, 'I'm leaving.' That's not who I am. And, realistically, I was a high school recruit, too. They didn't offer me in high school. So why do you want me now?" he continued to the outlet.
Applebaum told Birds Eye Football that Mahogany “showed guys what it looks like,” to play a tough, gritty, brand of football that the Eagles love.
“He's got some dirtbag in him and he's just one of those tough, Jersey kids that doesn't take a lot of crap,” Holmes said of Mahogany, a now infamous quote that has already made the rounds on social media.
The title of “dirtbag” has also been embraced by the rookie himself. He changed his username on X to feature his new nickname. When asked about it by reporters on a post-draft Zoom call, he said:
“It’s something that I really pride myself on… [and] I look forward to bringing it to the National Football League.”
Watching Mahogany's highlight tape, it is immediately apparent what earned him that name. The youngster is a violent player. He throws defensive linemen and linebackers around in the run game. He dumps tacklers to the ground the way a high school bully puts the nerd in the trash can in a 90s comedy. His power is immense. Applebaum said he carries himself with a “fierceness”.
Developing a second tool in his arsenal will be at the top of Hank Fraley’s task list as he tries to mould Mahogany into the talent the Lions hope he will become.The guard is, as it stands, a one trick pony. He can barrel over people while run blocking. Put him in space and he moves like a wrecking ball.
But playing offensive line in the NFL isn’t just about running defenders down. Even then, NFL-sized defensive tackles will be bigger than their collegiate peers.
Mahogany is a poor pass blocker. While he did put together a surprisingly great performance against future first round pick Jared Verse during the Eagles’ match-up against Florida State last year, he struggled much of the year.
A pass rusher with any sort of move other than the bull rush will often get the best of him. His feet are slow and stiff. He quickly gets off balance, not from being knocked over, but from having to reposition himself against a defensive tackle whose plan of attack isn’t just running straight at him. He moves like a battleship, strong in attack but hard to maneuver and vulnerable to being attacked.
Playing with violence — or grit, as the Lions like to say — is great. But you need to be able to do the other things too. There is clearly a lot of potential in a high effort player who can move in space the way Mahogany does and play with his level of strength, but it needs refinement.
On the first night of the NFL Draft this year, I joined my old friends Chris Perfett, of Fox Sports, and Kent Lee Platte, of Pro Football Network, on a stream covering the event (I worked alongside both when we were all previously at SB Nation’s Pride of Detroit).
On the stream, Platte said something that caught my attention: Holmes loves to target injured players.
The Lions’ big addition this offseason was Carlton Davis in a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A great corner, Davis has never played a full NFL season over his six year career. He also brought in Marcus Davenport, a highly touted defensive end coming out of college whose career since has been marred by significant injuries.
In 2023, he signed Emmanuel Mosely, a talented San Francisco 49ers corner who was coming off of the torn ACL. In 2022, he traded up in the first round to grab Jameson Williams, an Alabama receiver coming off of a torn ACL. He took a flier on Hendon Hooker last year, a Heisman contending quarterback whose college career ended by blowing out his knee.
The general manager is obviously not targeting players because they are injured, or have suffered injuries in the past that may give other GMs pause. But, what he is doing is exploiting market inefficiencies. Holmes loved being the guy who drafts players that are slipping.
You even see it with his not-injured picks. Detroit selected the last guy left in the green room last year, grabbing nickel Brian Branch. The Alabama product is already one of the league’s best at his position.
Mahogany was another draft day faller. As was Mekhi Wingo, who Detroit picked 21 picks earlier in the same sixth round. According to Arif Hasan, of Wide Left, players who are considered “steals” by the consensus draft board are more likely to have a successful NFL career than the average player taken at their spot. The Lions grabbed Mahogany at pick 216, an excellent spot for a player considered to be the 106th best in the draft.
If his fall was medical, then it isn’t anything affecting his ability to contribute immediately. Mahogany played all 12 of the Eagles’ regular season games last year, skipping their bowl game. He is expected to report to rookie camp later this week.
Platte presented Holmes’ love of injured players as a negative, and he had a point. Injured players are more likely to suffer further injuries. Davis has struggled his entire career. Moseley tore his other ACL just a few snaps into his debut. Lower body injuries can especially linger, repeatedly causing pain and slowly degrading a player’s athleticism over time.
But in the case of Mahogany, how much will it matter? He is a raw player that is absolutely not NFL ready. The guard will certainly need time before he is ready to have a prominent role on one of the league’s best units. If he has an injury that could potentially limit his career span, then the time that he will likely be at his “peak” may be very short.
On the other hand, for a sixth round pick, the expectations of the guard are relatively low. If he was drafted into a position where the Lions had more depth then his spot on the roster wouldn’t even be guaranteed. Even if he is only a great guard for one season, the Lions got their money’s worth.
Mahogany is, in a way, the ideal selection for Holmes. It's football arbitrage. Build a roster by hunting down market inefficiencies. While the Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has received praise for his ability to use economics to build a roster, Holmes might be the real market manipulator in the NFC North.