The rebuilding Lions have a foundation up front.
The club drafted Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell seventh overall Thursday night, adding a potential star to an already strong offensive line.
“Nobody can do what I do in this draft in the offensive tackle rooms,” Sewell told reporters after his pro day. “I bring something totally different to the table."
Sewell, who played left tackle in college, will likely play right tackle opposite Taylor Decker in Detroit. That duo will bookend Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow, with Jonah Jackson and Halapoulivaati Vaitai penciled in as guards.
NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein compares Sewell to longtime NFL left tackle Trent Williams, who's made eight Pro Bowls in a row.
"Rare-breed tackle with good size and the elite foot quickness to make the most challenging move blocks the game has to offer," Zierlein writes. "His tape shows an ability to single-handedly spring touchdown runs with 'wow' blocks."
Sewell was a unanimous All-American in 2019 when he became the first sophomore in college football history to win the Outland Trophy as the country's top offensive lineman. He opted out of the 2020 season.
While offensive line wasn't a glaring need for the Lions entering the first round, Sewell wasn't expected to fall to No. 7. When he did, the club was surely thrilled to draft him.
Former Browns GM and three-time Super Bowl-winner Michael Lombardi told 97.1 The Ticket on Thursday that he "would never pass Sewell up" if he were calling the shots for Detroit.
"Where are you going to find a 20-year-old dancing bear who never gets his uniform dirty who can play left tackle?" said Lombardi, who spent three years as an assistant for the Patriots. "As Bill Belichick would often say to me, just go put him up on the Pro Bowl board. Just put him over there because that’s where he’s going. How do you pass that up?"
Sewell was training at right tackle ahead of the draft, in the event he landed on a team with an established left tackle. Good thing. With Decker signed through 2024, the Lions could have one of the NFL's best tackle tandems for years to come.
"I don’t care who you have on your line. You can’t find great Pro Bowl tackles, (so) you never apologize," Lombardi said. "It’s like what I tell my stock broker: 'Don’t apologize for making me money.' Don’t apologize for getting me a good tackle."