Amid a frustrating season on the field in 2021, the Detroit Lions are quietly building a foundation they hope leads to sustained success for many years.
This season, the team’s rookie players have been outstanding as a whole, and the Lions are getting solid contributions from across the roster at multiple different spots from youngsters. One player, though, may be standing out from the rest in the form of offensive tackle Penei Sewell.
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From the start of the season until now, Sewell’s work has been elite up front for the Lions, and the tackle continues to generate praise as a result. Recently, he was named one of just three rookies who would crack the Pro Football Focus All-Pro team with three quarters of the season in the books.
Typically, the PFF All-Pro team is reserved for players who are the statistical and analytical best of the best in the league. To see Sewell amongst those players now is certainly encouraging.
Sewell’s play has become a major revelation for the Lions, who are seeing the tackle look invisible on the field as a rookie against some of the best pass rushers in the game. Regardless of if Sewell has played the left side or the right side, he has looked elite. That’s big news for the Lions, who might be able to get a pair of bookend tackles in Taylor Decker and Sewell with this news.
Whether Sewell can finish off the season in this strong manor remains to be seen, but it seems he’d have to have a major collapse at this point in order to do so.
Sewell Credits Training Camp for Comfortability
Why was Sewell able to look good playing on the right side so quickly upon his Week 10 return to right tackle? As he explained after the game, he credited his work during training camp getting acclimated and even playing left tackle through the first half of the season for the performance.
As Sewell told the media on November 14 in an interview posted to DetroitLions.com, it was a credit to his offseason work.
“It felt real comfortable, It was really a testament to all that work that happened in training camp when I was getting comfortable to the position, and actually, playing left tackle. I don’t know how that happened. But I was real comfortable out there,” Sewell told the media.
Sewell also believed that gaining experience as a whole in NFL games played a role in him looking better on the field.
“Definitely having those first eight games under my belt helped tremendously,” he said. “Now I know the speed of the game, and everything that comes along with an NFL game. So, those eight games helped me to become comfortable just like I was tonight.”
As the season wears on, Sewell looks to only be gaining in that confidence and the dividends are showing on the field.
Sewell Having Strong 2021 Season
To some, it may be a bit of a shock to see Sewell playing so well. After all, the rookie tackle went through his share of ups and downs early on.
First, Sewell had to miss rookie minicamp after contracting COVID-19. That put him behind his peers temporarily considering he had already skipped his entire senior season in college. Many wondered if he could adjust to the league, but once he got to work, the traits that made Sewell a top 10 pick were firmly on display in camp. Size, fluid movement, physicality and a veteran mindset were the tangibles and intangibles that cemented Sewell would be an immediate success
After that point, though, the team revealed Sewell would be playing right tackle, a departure from the left side, which was he only spot he knew in college. In the first preseason game, Sewell struggled. He continued to show his warts during the preseason, leading folks to question whether he would be a bust. Once the season came, he had to play left tackle in an emergency role and managed to excel there, leading some to question if he was being misused.
Now, though, Sewell is getting the last laugh. Since his return to the right side, Sewell has been just as invincible as he normally is on the left. He has silenced his critics and seems poised to lock in a strong finish to the 2021 season that could land him on some impressive lists such as this.
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