Penei Sewell, best right tackle in the NFL? Not so fast, says a former All-Pro at the position.
After Sewell was ranked No. 2 among offensive tackles and No. 1 among right tackles in ESPN's annual ranking of the NFL's best players at each position as determined by executives, coaches and scouts, former Chiefs star Mitchell Schwartz took to X to say that Sewell doesn't deserve that ranking over Eagles star right tackle Lane Johnson, who came in at No. 3 on the list.
"Whoever is running Sewell’s PR firm needs a raise," said Schwartz, a Super Bowl champ who earned four All-Pro selections over his five seasons with the Chiefs (and nine seasons in the NFL), all of them at right tackle. "I don’t care how good of a run blocker you are, being an average or above-average pass blocker means you aren’t the best at your side or the 2nd best overall tackle.
"Everyone is going to think I hate Sewell, I don’t, he’s still the 2nd best RT for me. He’s just not good enough to be getting the accolades and praise he currently is."
When challenged on the idea that Sewell is just OK as a pass-blocker after a season in which he allowed one sack on 596 pass-blocking snaps, Schwartz pointed out that Sewell was "30th in pass block grade last year by PFF" and that "he is average to above average, relative" to the players like Johnson that he's being compared to.
"I’ll stand on that. In terms of across the league he’s better than that for sure. It’s more proving the point that we can all find a stat to back our view," said Schwartz.
Tristan Wirfs of the Bucs was the top-ranked tackle in the survey, followed by Sewell, Johnson, Trent Williams of the 49ers and Jordan Mailata of the Eagles. Schwartz went on to say that he's "tired of being told by Lions people that they are more right than I am" about Sewell, the former seventh overall pick who signed a $112 million extension with the Lions last spring that makes him one of the highest-paid offensive tackles in the NFL.
"I never hear from other OL guys that I’m wrong about Sewell. I never see from non-Lions fans how wrong and stupid I am. The people and places I like to put stock into are all agreeable that Sewell is very clearly the 2nd best RT," said Schwartz.
To Schwartz, Sewell "gets a publicity boost because of his draft position, because of the Lions' success, because of the way they win (physicality), because of his contract, because of the fun ways Ben Johnson uses him. It all makes it so he’s seen as better than he actually is (aka better than Lane, and in the best overall OT conversation)."