DETROIT – Since Bob Quinn took over as the general manager of the Detroit Lions, his plan to turn the franchise around has been crystal clear.
Quinn knows the heart of any football team is in the trenches, and he's used plenty of resources to bolster the offensive line. He took left tackle Taylor Decker with his first pick as Lions GM, signed T.J. Lang and Rick Wagner last offseason, and selected center Frank Ragnow with the team's first-round pick Thursday.
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Building an elite offensive line is a recipe for success, but the opposite has been true for the Lions over the last decade.
Long gone are the days of Barry Sanders in Detroit, as the team hasn't been able to run the ball since. It's been particularly bad over the past decade, starting with the 0-16 season in 2008.
Since 2008, the Lions have been the worst NFL franchise in terms of running the football. It's no coincidence that the team is 65-95 over that span.
Year-by-year results
A consistent rushing attack is key to success in the NFL, but the Lions have been consistent in all the wrong ways.
Here's a look at the team's year-by-year rankings in terms of total rushing yards and yards per attempt, out of 32 total teams:
In 10 seasons, the Lions have never been in the top half of the league in total rushing, and they've been in the bottom five each of the last four years. Detroit has been the worst rushing team in the country for two of the last three seasons.
Last season was the latest example, as the Lions ranked last in the NFL in rushing, more than 100 yards behind the Bengals at No. 31. Jacksonville ran for 1,041 more yards than the Lions.
Revolving door
It's been difficult for the Lions to solidify a consistent offensive line, but the running back position has also been a major struggle.
The Lions have had seven different leading rushers in the last 10 years, despite using valuable resources on the position. Jahvid Best was a first-round pick, Ameer Abdullah and Mikel Leshoure were second-round picks and Kevin Smith was a third-round pick.
None of those selections lived up to their draft position. The Lions have had one player rush for 1,000 yards in a season since 2008, and it was free agent signee Reggie Bush.
Here's a look at the Lions' leading rushers by season:
Those numbers are astounding. The Lions have had more leading rushers who ran for fewer than 400 yards than 1,000-yard running backs.
Detroit's leading running back has averaged fewer than 4 yards per carry in six of the last 10 seasons. The only solid rushing efforts in terms of yards per attempt came in 2011 and 2013.
What does it mean?
The Lions have had a pretty good passing game since drafting Matthew Stafford in 2009, and even the defense has been solid in many recent years.
But the rushing attack has been consistently bad for a decade, with one solid season in 2013 with Bush. That's a major reason the Lions haven't won a playoff game since Barry Sanders retired.
Quinn is trying to change that narrative, and he started with the five men up front. With a solid offensive line in place, the Lions might be closer than they've been in 10 years to fielding a respectable running game.
Now, they just need a playmaker at running back for the finishing touch.