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Riley Reiff could end up being the old guy on the Lions' starting offensive line, at just 26 years old.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

DEARBORN -- The Detroit Lions are undergoing a youth movement on the offensive line.



Dominic Raiola and Rob Sims -- the unit's two most venerable fixtures -- are out. Second-year center Travis Swanson and rookie guard Laken Tomlinson are (probably) in.

Combine those guys with the fourth-year Riley Reiff, third-year Larry Warford and third-year LaAdrian Waddle, and Detroit's projected starting line is tracking to be the second-youngest in the league.

If Waddle (ACL) isn't ready to go for the season opener, then they'll likely go even younger with the second-year Cornelius Lucas.

Hiccups can be expected, with all that youth and all those moving parts. But what the Lions lose in experience, they appear to be gaining in athleticism.

"I kind of equate it to young running backs," quarterback Matthew Stafford said. "You watch (young backs) run, and they just have no regard for their body. They just out there and they run. They play hard, they play physical. And O-line I think is the same way.

"It's fun to watch these guys just move around. The athletic ability we have up there right now is pretty awesome."

The offensive line is undergoing a face lift after it turned in a disappointing 2014 season. Stafford was sacked a career-worst 45 times, and the running game nosedived to 28th in the league.

That includes a philosophical shift, moving to a more simplified, butt-kicking approach, as well as a physical one.

The Lions are expected to replace Raiola, a 14-year veteran, with Swanson, a third-round pick out of Arkansas in 2014. They're expected to replace Sims, a nine-year veteran, with Tomlinson, a first-round pick out of Duke this year.

Reiff could end up being the old guy in the starting lineup, at just 26 years old.

There's a whole lot of uncertainty facing that group. But the upgrade in athleticism has been undeniable through eight days of OTAs. The final two days are Wednesday and Thursday, followed by next week's mandatory minicamp.

"I think we could be an extremely athletic offensive line," Tomlinson said. "I think that's just the kind of football team we're going to be. We're going to be athletic, we're going to be physical, we're going to run the ball and we're going to pass the ball. We're going to be physical."

Ramirez, an eight-year veteran, says it's too early to say how good or athletic this offensive line will be. But he said it has the potential to be among the best of his career.

"We have a young offensive line," he said. "They got the young bones, young muscles, quick-twitch.

"You can definitely see it, and everyone's excited."

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