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'It Would Be Truly a Blessing:' Noah Sewell Wants to Play for Lions

Noah Sewell is a linebacker prospect the Lions could target.

Alain Poupart

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Indianapolis -- Bad luck prevented Noah Sewell from playing with his older brother Penei at the University of Oregon, and the linebacker prospect would love nothing better than getting to do it in the NFL with the Detroit Lions.

Speaking at the 2023 combine Wednesday, Noah Sewell didn’t hesitate for a second when asked whether he’d prefer playing with Penei in the NFL or be selected to a different team so he can make his own name.

"If I would get to play with my brother, it would be truly a blessing,” Sewell said. “I mean, you’ve never heard really of two brothers on the same team at once. But yeah, it'd be a blessing."

While Noah isn’t technically correct because there have been several brother duos playing together in the NFL, he’s right that it doesn’t happen every day.

The Lions drafting Sewell to team up with Penei would more than make up for the misfortune of 2020 when Noah arrived at Oregon but Penei decided to sit out because of COVID-19 before entering the 2021 NFL draft as an underclassman where the Lions took him with the sixth overall pick.

"I mean yeah, I was bummed out that I couldn't play with my brother,” Noah said, “but at the same time, I'm there for me."

Like his brother, Noah is entering the draft as an underclassman after earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors as a junior.

And while they play on different sides of the ball, Noah says there’s a lot of things about his game that resemble what his brother does.

"I really love watching that boy play,” Noah said of Penei. “He really brings the passion to that game. You see it every snap, every play. He brings a lot. I'm just trying to match that."

Noah Sewell is an oversized off-the-ball linebacker who projects as a second-day pick. He said he’s currently weighing 250 pounds.

"Yeah, (teams) do question my weight a little bit,” he said. “I am on the heavier side of the scale, but I like to kind of stay away from those typical linebackers. I like to be unique with my weight. I can move around."

Because the Lions are only one of 32 teams, the chances of Noah being reunited are remote.

If that’s the way it turns out, just know he’ll be ready to go head-to-head against his brother.

"I'm gonna win a couple,” he said. “I will."

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. Alain also is an independent correspondent for NHL.com, covering the Florida Panthers and games at FLA Live Arena. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s. Alain can be heard twice a week on the Big O YouTube radio show, where he and host Orlando Alzugaray Jr. talk mostly Dolphins but also other sports and pop culture, where he'll sing the virtues of progressive rock or his favorite bands like R.E.M., Concrete Blonde or Keane.

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