Juice Scruggs Lands Lions' Starting Center Job — What It Means for Montgomery

Detroit's offensive line just got reshuffled, and the guy stepping into the middle wasn't supposed to be there. Juice Scruggs — who came over in the David Montgomery trade — will start at center against the Saints on Sunday. That's a real change for a Lions run game that leaned on 716 rushing yards and 8 rushing touchdowns from Montgomery in 2025.

The reason is Cade Mays. He was penciled in as the starting center before a wrist injury a month ago pushed him to injured reserve. That opened the door for Scruggs, who spent most of the offseason working at guard rather than center.

Scruggs isn't a total stranger to the position, though. He logged eight starts at center for the Texans, so this is more of a role revival than a cold-start experiment. Still, he admitted the early reps at center in Detroit felt overwhelming before things slowed down and he settled in.

Scruggs said he's a lot more comfortable now and ready to go, adding that you never know when your number gets called, so you prepare like a starter regardless. That's the right mentality — but preparation and Week 1 chemistry with a new quarterback and guards aren't the same thing.

Why the Pivot Matters for Detroit

Center is the quarterback of the offensive line. It's the guy setting protections, making the line calls, and anchoring the interior on inside runs. When you swap that role days before kickoff, the ripple effect touches every gap the running back is supposed to hit.

For a Montgomery-style back — one who thrives between the tackles and grinds out the tough yards — interior communication matters more than for a perimeter speed guy. If Scruggs and the guards aren't in sync early, you can see it in stuffed runs and blown short-yardage attempts near the goal line, where Montgomery does his damage.

The flip side: Scruggs has done this before, and the coaching staff clearly trusts the tape enough to hand him the job rather than shuffle a guard inside. Eight NFL starts at center is a real sample. This isn't a practice-squad body being thrown to the wolves.

The Fantasy Fallout

David Montgomery is the name fantasy managers care about here, and the news is mildly cautionary rather than alarming. He finished 2025 with 165 PPR points across 17 games and sits at RB27 in our model — a steady, floor-based RB2 whose value is tied directly to red-zone volume and interior blocking.

The winner in the short term is anyone rostering Detroit's pass-catchers and the quarterback, since a shaky interior sometimes nudges an offense toward quicker throws. The loser risk is Montgomery's touchdown equity if goal-line push suffers early while Scruggs finds his footing. Handcuff owners should keep a closer eye than usual this week.

Bottom line: hold Montgomery and start him as your RB2 — his role and touches aren't changing. But temper expectations for a monster Week 1 line against the Saints until we see how quickly Scruggs gels at center. If the interior looks clean on tape, Montgomery's floor stays exactly where it was.