In a couple of weeks, the NFL will announce finalists for the NFL Honors, an award show celebrating the best performances of the 2025 NFL season. For the first time ever, that award show will feature the Protector of the Year Award, which will be given to the best offensive lineman for the past year. The award, per the NFL, will be based on the five following criteria: skills metrics, impact, leadership, durability, and strength of opponent.
Without a doubt, Detroit Lions right tackle Penei Sewell should be considered the front-runner for this award, and there’s no better argument for him that this simple graph presented by Football Insights:
This chart tracks PFF overall grade on the x-axis (measured left to right) and Sports Info Solutions’ blown block rate on the y-axis (down to up). And there is Sewell, ranking No. 1 in both metrics, in the corner of the top-right quadrant. And in case you were wondering, Sewell also laps the field when it comes to PFF run blocking grade (96.8), with the second closest tackle being Trent Williams (92.8).
Unsurprisingly, PFF awarded Sewell with their own version of the Protector of the Year Award. Here was their explanation:
The fifth-year right tackle’s PFF overall grade (95.5) ranks third among all offensive linemen over the past three seasons and first among right tackles in that span, while his PFF run-blocking grade (95.1) is the highest by any right tackle over the past five years and trails only Trent Williams’ 2021 season among all offensive linemen.
Interestingly, Sewell considered this past season as not up to his normal standards.
“This year, alone, it wasn’t my best ball. It was far from that,” Sewell said on Monday.
If this wasn’t his best season, y’all better look out in 2026.
Sewell also excels in the other criteria for the award. As a leader, this was Sewell’s third year as a Lions captain, and his ability to motivate is clear with every one of his pre-game speeches. Additionally, his durability is nearly unmatched. Despite fighting through several injuries toward the end of the season and missing the finale, Sewell has only sat out two games in his entire five-year career. The only thing working against him is team success. The Lions are out of the playoffs while other elite offensive linemen (Lane Johnson, Eagles; Trent Williams, 49ers) are still playing.
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