From TJ Lang to Jon Jansen to Geoff Schwartz, former Lions offensive linemen were mighty impressed with Penei Sewell's NFL debut.
Covering for the injured Taylor Decker, Sewell became the youngest starting left tackle in NFL history, after playing right tackle throughout training camp and the preseason, and stood his ground against Nick Bosa and the rest of a dominant defensive line for the 49ers. Sewell, who turns 21 in October, graded out as the Lions' third best offensive player, per Pro Football Focus.
After grading out as one of their worst while trying to adapt to a new position in the preseason.
"I thought he played really well," Lang said Monday on the Stoney & Jansen Show. "His footwork was 10 times better, he didn’t take any really bad sets that put himself in a bad position. And his hand placement, I mean, when he gets his hands in the proper position, inside on the chest, you just can’t get off of the kid. … Even in the run game, he looks like a five-, six-year pro. The guy just looks so comfortable at left tackle, and I don’t know if that’s concerning or not because what do you do now when Taylor gets back?"
That's the million-dollar dilemma for the Lions. Or so it appears. Maybe it's as simple as shifting Sewell back to right tackle, where the Lions envision him playing opposite Decker for the next several years. Sewell himself has already said that's the plan.
But Jansen, who was a nine-year starter at right tackle in the NFL, has another idea. In the interest of keeping Sewell at his natural position and fortifying the left side of the line, how about: Sewell at left tackle, Decker at left guard, Frank Ragnow at center, Jonah Jackson at right guard and Matt Nelson at right tackle.
"It doesn’t move Decker and make him have to change hands. It secures that left side," Jansen said Monday. "I’m comfortable enough having seen (Sewell there) one time, especially if Decker is over there to help him with some of the terminology, some of the looks, all that stuff, that you’re not going to have to help that side. You’re going to have to help Matt Nelson at times. But now you only have to focus on, am I going to put the tight end over there, am I going to send the full back, the running back, a receiver in motion to help chip that defensive end? But it solves the question of having to move anybody that is a natural left-side player to the right."
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In theory, it makes some sense. Lang agreed that "if you stay on the left side, left tackle to left guard isn’t as extreme as going left tackle to right tackle," which is what the Lions did with Sewell after drafting him seventh overall.
"The difficulty comes in switching your legs up and now my left leg is my power leg, now my left hand is my inside hand," Lang said. "There’s just a lot of mental gymnastics that take place."
It also eliminates a weakness in Halapoulivaati Vaitai, the big-ticket free agent a year ago who didn't look any better Sunday than he did last season. And while Jackson would have to switch from left guard to right guard as a result, "He did a lot of that last year," said Lang. "He started a lot of games at both positions, so that wouldn’t be a huge issue I don’t think."
The issue, obviously, would be asking Decker, a six-year vet who's arguably one of the 10 best left tackles in the NFL, to give up his position for a rookie. The Lions are paying Decker $15 million a year to protect their quarterback's blindside through 2024. And the whole idea of drafting Sewell to play right tackle was adding to a strength with established stars at left tackle and center.
"The Decker thing, I don’t know, Jon, you played for a long time," said Lang. "If you were in year seven and you were top 10 at your position at left tackle and the coaches asked you to do it..."
"You’d have to swallow a lot of pride," said Jansen.
"And Taylor Decker is an awesome dude and just an awesome teammate," said Lang, who played alongside Decker for two seasons in Detroit. "But left tackle is a different position. It’s almost like a skill position where you take a lot of pride in being the dude on that offensive line. I don’t know, it would be difficult I think to move him."
Right now, the Lions aren't committing to anything with Decker and Sewell. Asked Monday where he envisions Sewell playing when Decker returns from the finger injury that will reportedly sideline him for a month, Dan Campbell said, "I would love to entertain that, but man, we’re so far away from that right now.
"We’ll worry about that when Decker comes back, but right now I know that we feel good with Sewell being at left," Campbell said. "We asked him to move over there and he accepted the challenge and did well. And we’re going to need another good performance out of him (in Week 2 against the Packers) because these guys have some good rushers as well."
In all likelihood, the Lions will stick to the script when Decker gets healthy and move Sewell back to the right. For a team ready to win, maybe the calculus would be different. Maybe the best lineup right now would take precedence. But for a rebuilding team like Detroit, the long-term vision is what matters most. And there's still something for Sewell to gain at left tackle in the short term.
"Best-case scenario, Sewell goes back to the right side with just a buttload of confidence, because I think through the preseason he was getting frustrated," said Lang. "Just watching him on the sideline he was getting kind of worried about his footwork and his hand placement. But if you give him these three, four games at left tackle and he just keeps playing dominant football, I think even if you put him back on the right side and OK, maybe his footwork isn't quite as technical, he’s got the confidence factor. And you know how big that is for a young kid."