SouthernWorldwide.com – The Detroit Lions are making a significant positional change for their star offensive lineman, Penei Sewell, this upcoming season. Sewell, a three-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowl selection in his first five NFL seasons, is moving from right tackle to left tackle.
This move places Sewell in an exceptionally rare category of offensive tackles. He joins an elite group that includes only three Hall of Famers: Anthony Munoz, Tony Boselli, and Joe Thomas. These legendary players were all first-team All-Pro at least three times and made the Pro Bowl four or more times within their first five years in the league, consistently playing left tackle throughout their careers.
The Lions are shifting Sewell to the left side to fill the void left by Taylor Decker. Meanwhile, the team plans to utilize either their first-round draft pick, Blake Miller, or newly acquired veteran Larry Borom at Sewell’s former position on the right side.
Head coach Dan Campbell expressed confidence in Sewell’s ability to adapt to the new role. Campbell believes the transition will be smooth for the 6-foot-5, 335-pound lineman.
“It’ll be like riding a bike for him,” Campbell stated before a recent team workout. “Will there be things he’ll have to learn? Yeah, of course there will be. But I mean, he has played left. That’s muscle memory. He played a lot of left in college and for us in ’21.”
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Detroit drafted Sewell out of Oregon with the seventh overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. At Oregon, he was a highly decorated left tackle.
During his rookie season in 2021, Sewell started the first eight games at left tackle due to an injury to Taylor Decker. This made him the youngest left tackle to ever start an NFL game at just 20 years old.
The Lions then moved Sewell to right tackle midway through that rookie year, and he remained in that position for the subsequent four seasons. There was a brief stint where he played left tackle again during the 2023 season when Decker was sidelined by injury.
“Sewell can do it all,” Campbell emphasized, highlighting his versatility.
Taylor Decker had requested his release during the offseason, concluding a decade-long tenure as the team’s starting left tackle. He had initially announced his intention to return to play rather than retire. To address the vacancy created by Decker’s departure, the Lions selected Blake Miller from Clemson with the 17th overall pick in the recent draft.
Sewell, who is currently in the first year of a four-year contract worth $112 million, has proven to be an exceptional acquisition for the Lions. His performance has been consistently outstanding.
He has earned first-team All-Pro honors for the past three consecutive years and has been selected to the Pro Bowl four times in a row. Over his five seasons, Sewell has started 83 regular-season games and four playoff contests, playing a crucial role in transforming the long-struggling franchise into a respected competitor in the league.
Campbell further elaborated on Sewell’s athleticism, suggesting he could even play guard or tight end. However, he acknowledged that switching sides as an offensive lineman presents unique challenges.
Players who have made such a transition often describe it as akin to driving a car using the opposite foot or shaving with their non-dominant hand. The footwork required on each side is distinct, as is the hand-eye coordination that must be adapted.
“When you switch, you have a different leg up front,” Sewell himself has explained. “So you have to push off a different leg every time. You have to train this leg that’s been back the whole time and catching to now pushing.”
