The best player upfront for the Lions as graded by PFF was right tackle Penei Sewell, whose 95.2 overall grade led all offensive linemen. His run-blocking grade (95.1) is the highest by any right tackle over the past five years and led all offensive linemen this season by a substantial margin. Sewell allowed pressure on just 3.3 percent of pass plays, a career best that ranked second among right tackles and fifth among all offensive tackles.
He was recently named First-Team All-Pro for a third straight year and earned his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl nod.
Talking to Sewell after the conclusion of a disappointing regular season from a team perspective, it’s clear the fifth-year veteran closely ties individual success with team success.
“This year alone, it wasn’t my best ball,” Sewell said, despite the analytics saying otherwise. “It was far from that. I’m a firm believer it starts with me upfront. I believe I set the tone. And make plays typically offensive linemen don’t make. This year was definitely a down year for me, and we’ll start with that. All the other stuff, I’ll leave up to the coaches, but going into this next season, that’ll be on my mind.”