Why Penei Sewell is a legitimate Offensive Player of the Year candidate

It’s time to have a real conversation about Lions tackle Penei Sewell being considered for AP Offensive Player of the Year.

“And it doesn’t hurt that you’re setting up a block on a 340-pound guy that’s 6-foot-5, that can dunk a basketball any kind of way, that can catch the ball—you know, that can do it all.”

This was how Detroit Lions assistant head coach Scottie Montgomery was talking about All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell during his media availability on Thursday.

“So I think I could set up a couple blocks for Penei,” he continued. “Like just a little wiggle and I think I could get four yards after that.”

Normally, this kind of talk is reserved for the likes of wide receivers and defensive ends. You know, the positions that typically have the elite of the elite athletes at them. The fact that people consistently talk about Sewell in this manner is yet another sign of the times, and evidence of a game that is ever-evolving.

The days of the stagnant, plodding, heavy-footed offensive lineman are over. Don’t get me wrong—Penei Sewell, along with the rest of the Detroit offensive line, can run through an opponent’s face when they want to. Go watch the Lions’ lone overtime series from their Week 1 win over the Los Angeles Rams if you’re in need of a reminder.

Watching that particular drive was also a reminder that this was all a very deliberate plan set in place by Lions coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes when they took over in 2021. They wanted a physical, gritty team that was always ready to compete and smack opponents in the mouth when the need arises.

Sewell was their very first draft pick back in the 2021 NFL Draft, and ever since he arrived in Detroit, we have been told by Lions’ brass that he was going to be a pillar for this organization going forward. Since the time he was a 17-year-old starting freshman at the University of Oregon, he was billed as one of the best tackle prospects in years, and now midway through his fourth season as a professional—the 24-year-old is regarded by many as the best offensive lineman in the league.

With all of that said, I am ready to take this conversation to another level. Penei Sewell: Offensive Player of the Year. And before you think to yourself, “But it has never happened before. Why would that change now?” Well, hear me out for a minute.

These days, the most imaginative offensive minds in the game are scheming up ways to get their playmakers into open space, where they can gash defenses with their otherworldly physical gifts. And while Lions’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has no shortage of ball-carrying gamebreakers in his arsenal, he continues to find innovative ways to maximize the superhuman talent that he has lined up at right tackle.

“Sewell is so versatile,” coach Dan Campbell said this week. “There’s so many things that he can do and everything from, obviously, the gap scheme to really knocking an edge down. You talk about people setting edges, he can just knock an edge down and create a couple of gaps in the defense. But even then, on the perimeter, his ability to run and maneuver. He’s just such a good athlete, he’s powerful, he’s nimble.”

And while I know this is from 2022, I still think about this play a lot. Who else throws a pass to their right tackle to ice a game? The Lions, that’s who.

Getting into space as a puller, picking off defensive backs at the second level, completely erasing pass-rushers, or running stride-for-stride with running back Jahmyr Gibbs on a screen play—Sewell is a do-it-all talent with a mindset that helps set him even further apart from his peers. Simply put, Sewell is a bonafide superstar in this league, and has been for quite some time now.

This movement isn’t only supported by a few friendly faces at Pride of Detroit like myself and managing editor Erik Schlitt. Others are beginning to get on board with the movement. And yes, it is a movement. I am contemplating putting a sign in our front yard. If I can hide it among the Christmas decorations, maybe my girlfriend won’t see it for a few days. Time will tell.

Yep. That is friend of the program and ESPN’s Mina Kimes coming around to the idea of including Sewell in the Offensive Player of the Year conversation. Welcome, Mina. We are happy to have you.

NFL Network’s Gregg Rosenthal is also on board.

“That they are the defining team of this season right now to me,” said Rosenthal when asked for his pitch for Sewell to win the award. “They are defined by their offensive line (and) that even even dummies like me who don’t specialize in offensive line play can watch this man and the way that he moves and say that is one of the best athletes I’ve literally ever seen, and people that are smarter than me and really break it down like a Brian Baldinger say like, ‘This is the best offensive lineman in the league,’ (and) what they build in terms of their pass game, but especially their run game, is around this guy.”

Honestly, those words from Rosenthal are so kind that I am inclined to possibly forget what he once said about the Lions’ running back room prior to the 2023 season. It’s ok, Gregg. You certainly weren’t alone. IYKYK.

On a serious note, that is one of the biggest reasons why I am pushing for Sewell to win this award. The Lions’ offense has been one of the best offenses in football for a while now, and so much of it is centered around their superstar tackle from Malaeimi—a small beach community in American Samoa where the Sewell family proudly hails from.

So yes, Sewell should absolutely be in consideration to win the award, especially if his level of play stays where it is over the course of the next three to four months. Who cares if it an offensive lineman has never won the award before? Like I mentioned at the top, times have changed, and so has the game of football.

Sewell is the best player on the best team in the NFL, and if you watch the Lions play, then you understand how fundamental he is to this team’s continued success.

From breaking down the team pregame to being the centerpoint of the best offense in the game, he is deserving of all the recognition there is—including being considered for an award like Offensive Player of the Year.