Penei Sewell is a 6’5 330 lb offensive tackle from the University of Oregon. He will still be 20 years old at the start of the 2021 NFL season making him one of the youngest prospects in this year’s draft. He also sat out the 2020 college season due to COVID. Despite being relatively inexperienced he’s already very refined, and he’s also amazingly athletically gifted, and it’s not hard to see why he’s regarded as the consensus top offensive tackle and a top 10 player by most. 

Strengths: 

  • Ideal Size

At just under 6’5 330 Penei Sewell has great size for the offensive tackle position. His frame gives him a great strong anchor but he holds his weight extremely well which allows him to move well.

  • Incredibly Quick

Penei Sewell legitimately looks like a tight end with the way that he moves. An offensive lineman should not be able to move as quick and accelerate as fast as he does. It makes him such a valuable player on the second level of the run game.

  • Great Hand Usage

Penei Sewell has great hand usage that really allows him to control offensive lineman. His punches are very strong and are placed extremely well, and he does a great job rooting defensive linemen upward.

  • Positions Himself Extremely Well

Penei Sewell does a great job at positioning himself well to gain leverage. He gets good knee bend to get low, and his kick step is consistent and quick, and gets him into great positioning off the outside.

  • Great Reactive Play

Penei Sewell does a phenomenal job reading and reacting to what defensive linemen are doing. He does a great job identifying stunts and also does a great job mirroring speed rushers and understanding when pass rushers are trying to set up a counter move. 

  • Strong Anchor

Penei Sewell has an incredibly strong anchor which makes it really tough for linemen to move him even if they land square punches on him. 

  • Great On the Second Level

Sewell really does a great job exploding out of his stance to gain ground into the second level, and although he isn’t a nasty finisher like some may like to see it’s rare that anyone gets past Sewell when he’s running at them on the second level.

Weaknesses: 

  • Short Arm Length

For as much of an athletic freak as Penei Sewell is, one thing that he is below average athletically is arm length. At just 33 ¼ his arms aren’t the longest, and it will allow defenders to occasionally land the first punch.

  • Leaves His Chest Open at Times

Penei Sewell sometimes leaves his chest and this is due to one main factor. Sometimes his hands aren’t as active as they should be, although for the most part they are consistent. 

Player Comp: There are very few offensive linemen in the NFL who quite have the size of Penei Sewell while still having the quickness and technical refinement which is why finding a player comparison is tough. I think Trent Williams is probably going to be the closest comparison, because despite being about 10 lbs lighter, he possesses just as much if not more quickness than Sewell, and he has similarly great hand usage, understanding of leverage, and ability on the second level. Both guys also have the tendency to leave their chests open in pass protection.

Final Thoughts: After watching Sewell I think I may be a pick or two lower than others on Sewell but I definitely see the hype around him. He is an athletic freak who’s technically sound well beyond his years and will certainly be a great tackle in the NFL for years to come. He’s pretty scheme flexible and the position where his value would be maximized is obviously left tackle. In terms of team fit I think going to the Bengals to be Joe Burrow’s blindside blocker would be huge for the team, especially after poor protection ended Burrow’s season last year.