Christian Mahogany

Current Contract

Contract Value Index (CVI)

The Lions secured solid value with Christian Mahogany's four-year, $4.2M deal, landing a developmental guard prospect at a price point that earns a C+ CVI — a fair contract that slightly favors Detroit. At just $1.0M AAV with minimal guaranteed money ($0.1M), this represents textbook low-risk, high-upside structuring for a young interior lineman who could develop into a reliable starter. The contract's team-friendly terms provide Detroit with multiple years of cost control while Mahogany works to establish himself in the league, making this the type of calculated gamble that championship-caliber organizations execute routinely. With such minimal guaranteed dollars, the Lions can evaluate his progress without significant financial consequences, while the four-year term offers ample runway for development. This deal exemplifies smart roster construction — paying appropriately for potential while maintaining flexibility to pivot if Mahogany doesn't pan out as expected.

Contracts in the Same Value Band

Other same-position deals the Contract Value Index also places in the C band — a quick read on where Christian's contract sits relative to comparable money.

Performance Analysis

Christian Mahogany is a second-year guard for the Detroit Lions, a young interior lineman still in the earliest stages of carving out a professional identity in one of the league's most demanding offensive systems. Availability is the foundational currency for any offensive lineman, and Mahogany's undefined body of work at the NFL level means there is simply not enough evidence to establish him as a reliable presence in the trenches. For a position where durability and continuity define value — where chemistry with a center and consistency of assignment recognition are built rep by rep over seasons — Mahogany remains an unproven quantity at this stage of his development. His grade reflects that reality squarely, earning a D- that speaks less to any ceiling he may possess and more to the absence of a meaningful sample size from which to draw real conclusions. Detroit's offensive line has been a point of organizational pride in recent years, which makes competition for snaps particularly fierce and the margin for developmental growing pains particularly thin. What to watch going forward is whether Mahogany can stay healthy, earn a consistent role, and begin accumulating the kind of game experience that transforms a roster prospect into a genuine starting-caliber guard in this league.

How Christian Compares at the Position

Christian Mahogany ranks 113th of 171 graded gs by performance. That slots Christian between Henry Byrd (D+) just ahead and Lecitus Smith (F) just behind.

Current Sentiment

Christian Mahogany enters the 2026 NFL offseason with about as toxic a public perception as a 25-year-old on a rookie scale contract can have — the narrative surrounding the Lions guard has cratered to an F, and the media consensus offers almost no lifeline. The defining storyline of his 2025 campaign was not development or competition, but absence and organizational doubt, with Mahogany appearing in only 11 games that season and earning a spot on Detroit's most impactful injuries list rather than its list of contributors. That injury-driven absence aligns grimly with his D- performance grade, painting a picture of a player who has yet to establish himself as even a reliable backup, let alone a legitimate starting option on an NFL offensive line. The most damning signal came from the front office itself: Detroit's reported meeting with a former Jacksonville Jaguars starting guard is the kind of move organizations make when they have quietly given up on an incumbent, and it landed in the media as exactly that — a public referendum on Mahogany's expendability. Detroit's subsequent addition of Ben Bartch at guard this offseason only deepened the skepticism, giving the Lions a credentialed alternative and further crowding Mahogany toward the fringe of the roster. While a handful of outlets have framed 2026 as a potential redemption arc following the NFL Draft, those takes are swimming against a strong current — the overwhelming read from media and fans alike is that Mahogany is a depth piece fighting for basic roster survival, not a player with a clear path to meaningful snaps. Until he proves he can stay on the field, the narrative stays exactly where it is.