5 Areas in Which Penei Sewell Can Improve in 2022

Read more on the five areas in which Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell can improve headed into the 2022 NFL season.

Every play on game film in 2021 became part of Lions rookie offensive tackle Penei Sewell’s football resume.

By all accounts, Sewell had a solid first year with Detroit, but he also left glaring evidence on film that he has room for improvement. The games against San Francisco (9/12), Chicago (10/3) and Minnesota (10/10) exposed the fact Sewell has things to work on.

Sewell is what he is. He is a physically-imposing mauler, who is anything but a ballerina on his feet. He also has shorter than ideal arms for offensive tackles (33 1/4 inch arm length, as opposed to the ideal length of 34 inches).

Sewell’s girth is a blessing and a curse. It allows him to be an imposing physical force when locked up on the perimeter in pass protection and when he is run blocking. 

However, it also gives him slower lateral foot speed, which can get him exposed against polished pass rushers with top-shelf speed and athleticism.

While Sewell’s effort helped him avoid disaster most of the time, it was not enough to keep the pocket from becoming very uncomfortable periodically for quarterback Jared Goff.

Pass rushers like (SF) Nick Bosa, (SF) Arden Key, (CHI) Robert Quinn, (CHI) Jeremiah Attaochu, (CHI) Trevis Gipson and (MIN) Everson Griffen were able to expose five things Sewell needs to work on. 

1.) Needs lateral footwork improvement

Consistently in all three of the aforementioned games, this was an issue. While improving his lateral foot speed, in conjunction with his size and weight, will not be easy, he definitely can work at continuing to slide his feet. 

Sewell tends to stop sliding his feet toward the backdoor of the pocket once engaged, and then gets turned and starts to lose leverage.

Sewell needs to work at sliding his feet up and down the perimeter of the pocket and staying in front of pass rushers. 

Quinn blew past him like he was shot out of a cannon, especially on the play he forced Goff to fumble.

2.) Work at protecting the "B gap"

The “B gap” is the gap between the left tackle’s inside shoulder and the outside shoulder of the left guard, and it was clearly the best way to beat Sewell - - and collapse the pocket. 

San Francisco’s Bosa blew threw the B gap three times against Sewell, twice in pass protection and once on a big run stop in the backfield. 

In that same game, San Francisco’s Key was also able to get into the B gap, and Chicago’s Gipson blew through it like a strong gust of wind to sack Goff.

Griffen also blew past Sewell through the B gap on two sacks. The issue is that Sewell lacks lateral foot speed and tends to overcommit to the outside to try to get a head start, which leaves him vulnerable back inside.

3.) Set up deeper in pass protection and be more patient

Sewell tended to go out and meet pass rushers on the outskirts of the pocket, which puts them more in control. Instead, he needs to set up deeper, and let them come to him.

Granted, Sewell can give up some ground against power, but it is a better plan than getting out of control in space.

Because Sewell has shorter than ideal arms, he tends to lean into his blocks when he is impatient and goes out and tries to lock up. However, this causes him to stop moving his feet.

Dale Zanine, USA TODAY Sports

4.) Become better at picking up stunts, blitzes and polished pass rush moves

These three above teams were able to get Sewell off balance through “X” stunts, when defenders cross each other in an attempt to confuse the blocking assignments of offensive linemen. 

The 49ers sent a corner blitz past Sewell like he was standing still. Bosa beat him with a swim move. All three of these teams won with spin moves to the outside and inside.

5.) Needs to work at controlling run blocks consistently until the whistle blows

Every so often, Sewell gives up on a run block too early and his guy gets in on the stop, or he struggles sustaining his run block long enough and it ends in the same result.

Sewell needs to gain better body positioning consistently in the run game, so he will not risk losing too soon. Every yard counts, and on the plays where his guy got in on the stop, that’s an area of opportunity.