ESPN Analyst Predicts Major NFL Honor for Lions’ Penei Sewell

The Detroit Lions don’t often land players to the NFL’s All-Pro team, but this year, that drought should end if an ESPN analyst has any say.

Detroit has enjoyed a solid season out of plenty of players, but may be getting the best play out of offensive tackle Penei Sewell. This season, Sewell has been solid for the Lions at tackle, and has been almost invisible up front for the Lions.

As a result of that, many think he should be involved in the All-Pro discussion. Recently, ESPN made a prediction about the NFL All-Pro team for 2022-23, and writer Bill Barnwell projected Sewell as one of his picks.

Barnwell had Sewell as a second-team All-Pro at right tackle behind Lane Johnson of Philadelphia within the piece due to how he’s able to move folks up front.

“Sewell has become a bulldozer on the right side of the line for the Lions, and his game-sealing catch against the Vikings in December only adds to his mystique,” Barnwell wrote in the piece.

Sewell might not be likely to be an All-Pro this season given the talent that’s around him in the league, but this shows he is on a fantastic trajectory for the team.

Getting players in the conversation for such honors is the goal for the Lions in terms of roster building, and Sewell has elevated his play in 2022 to that level as ESPN and Barnwell see it.

Sewell Was Primed for Bigger 2022

The admission before the year that things have slowed down for Sewell seemed a tell that the lineman was heading for bigger and better things at this stage of his career.

As a result of this news, it is no surprise to see him dominating. This season, Sewell has played in 17 games so far and has one catch for nine yards and a first down in one of the most exciting moments for the Lions all year.

Many, including Brian Baldinger of the NFL Network, pointed out Sewell’s stardom early in the season.

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“Lions’ Penei Sewell is an emerging star. Physically there aren’t many at the OL position that can do what he can and he might not be 22 years old! Just get on Freeway 58 and pick up all the yards you need,” Baldinger tweeted.

Often times, things can move incredibly fast for a young player, especially on the offensive side of the ball. It can be tough to adjust to faster and bigger players as well as a new offense coming from college. Sewell passed that test in season one, even as tough as things seemed at times.

Now, with more experience under his belt, Sewell seems to be leaping from promising young player to one of the better offensive tackles in the league. That was the hope for the Lions, and given Sewell’s play, it could now be seen as reality.

The offensive lineman continues to do nice work on the field for the Lions, and also continues to generate hype as a result.

Predicting Potential Lions’ 2022 All-Pros

As mentioned before, the Lions don’t typically get a lot of All-Pro votes on their team because they haven’t developed a lot of talent through the years.

Detroit’s last first-team All-Pro was cornerback Darius Slay, who was voted to the spot in 2017. The Lions also got such nods from defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (2010, 2013 and 2014) as well as wideout Calvin Johnson (2011, 2012, 2013).

Sewell could end up being Detroit’s best bet for an All-Pro vote right now. Center Frank Ragnow is a top-five player at his position in the league, but it’s hard to imagine him beating anybody else out at the position.

Defensively, the Lions have some rookies playing well in Aidan Hutchinson and James Houston, but neither will be All-Pro material right now. That could certainly change in the future.

Sewell himself may or may not earn any All-Pro honors when all is said and done, but it’s just refreshing to see that he is being thought of as such a talent for the team.