Just because Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell was ranked the best overall player in the NFL at his position, it doesn’t mean that all analysts are in complete alignment with the assessment.
In fact, ESPN NFL Insider Mike Clay had a far different take on the situation, ranking Sewell as the 10th overall player in the NFL at his position while also ranking the Lions’ offensive line as the 19th strongest in the 32-team League.
Clearly recognizing some understandable pushback from Lions fans, Clay took to social media to hit right back.
“Lions fans big mad but Sewell was 36th percentile in pass block win rate last season,” Clay wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “He still rates very well, but that’s enough to knock his rating enough to put him behind a few guys at one of the most competitive positions (LT).”
That wasn’t all Clay had to say.
“Half of the analysis seems to agree with PBWR, which is interesting. A friendly reminder that the ratings on the chart are not my opinion – they’re a compilation of pass and rush win rates, PFF grade, draft capital, and playing time,” he said. “Always open to suggestions on good, objective measures for OL evaluation. Bring it!”
ESPN Ranked Detroit Lions Offensive Tackle Penei Sewell As The Best Player In The NFL At His Position
Despite Clay’s objections, Sewell still came in first overall in a recent ranking by ESPN of the top player at each position.
“Sewell took the top spot with consistency in the voting,” said ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler of Sewell. “Though he didn’t dominate the first-place voting, he was living in the second- and third-place range, which improved his average in the composite total. And one NFC executive was blunt when describing Sewell’s strengths as a player.”
“His 89.6% pass block win rate landed outside the top 40 offensive tackles last season. It was his lowest since his rookie year in 2021,” Fowler explained. “Sewell is making the anticipated switch from right tackle to left tackle this season, and it will be something to watch.”
Penei Sewell Is Moving To The Left Side
The Lions plan on moving Sewell over to the left side in an effort to replace Taylor Decker, who won’t be back with Detroit for next season.
According to head coach Dan Campbell, the club is confident that the All-Pro will be able to make the transition seamlessly.
“Good. He’s over there, he’s been really since — he’s been working it even being back home before we started offseason, once I gave him the word,” Campbell said of Sewell. “So, it’ll be like riding a bike for him. Will it be things he’ll have to learn? Yeah, of course there will be. But I mean, he has played left. That’s muscle memory. He played a lot of left in college and for us in ’21, those first few games. And he still took reps at left even over the last five years, so that’ll be seamless. That’ll be seamless. Sewell can do it all.”
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