On his third snap as a right tackle in the NFL, Penei Sewell surrendered a sack to fellow rookie Gregory Rousseau. He was better for the rest of his preseason debut because of it.
“His ability to adjust, it really shows up,” Dan Campbell said Monday after the Lions dropped their preseason opener to the Bills last Friday. "The way he’s grown, there’s things that he gets beat on the day before that, man, it’s not happening the next day or the next rep. To be able to go out there and face a new opponent, he didn’t throw his hands (against Rousseau) like he had been and then you see him in the next rep and he does it.”
Campbell has made this point often of Sewell this summer. You won’t fool him twice. He’s one of the youngest players in the NFL – 21 in October – and he’s new to his position. He’s also proving to be a fast learner. Sewell settled down after his initial mishap against the Bills to help anchor a long scoring drive the next time Detroit’s offense took the field. All in all, the sixth overall pick left a solid first impression.
And in his own words, “there’s always more to improve on.”
That’s where his focus lies ahead of the Lions’ second preseason game Saturday against the Steelers and a defense that led the NFL in sacks last season.
“Going into game two I gotta get my hands right,” Sewell said Monday. “Right now they’re way too wide, especially going against players in the league, so I just gotta lock in on that. Fine-tune my pad level, too, and get my knee bend back. Just those two things I think will separate myself.”
Related
Much to Campbell’s point, Sewell already sounds more confident than when he admitted in May to some growing pains in moving from the left side of the line to the right. Back then, it was fair to wonder whether Sewell would be up for the challenge by Week 1 — or during his rookie season at all. It’s never a guarantee.
A couple months later, we’re starting to see what Campbell and Brad Homes saw in Sewell when they erupted in the Lions’ war room on draft night. So are some of Sewell’s teammates.
“I don’t want to get all hyped up here, but he’s been legit,” said Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow. “He’s been real legit.”
The Lions will get a watered-down version of Pittsburgh’s vaunted pass rush this weekend. All-Pro T.J. Watt is unlikely to play as he awaits a contract extension and Bud Dupree departed in free agency. Still, it will be another chance for Sewell and Detroit’s offensive line to justify the hype ahead of Week 1.
"Now that I got that first game under my belt, all the nerves a settled down a little bit," Sewell said. "I can go out there, know what to expect somewhat, and just have fun and play fast."