It has been a few years since we have had a draft class with an offensive tackle as the top prospect. We were close in 2016 with Laremy Tunsil, but then the whole gas mask debacle hit. Joey Bosa, Jalen Ramesy, and Ezekiel Elliott all made their case for the No. 1 prospect as well.
We gotta look all the way back at the 2013 NFL Draft to find a class that had an offensive tackle go 1st overall. In 2013 Eric Fisher and Luke Joeckel went 1st and 2nd overall to the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars respectively and both never lived up to those selections.
Then Greg Robinson was the 2nd pick in 2014, and has already found himself out of the NFL. It seems teams have been rather gun shy ever since when it comes to using a Top 5 pick on an offensive tackle.
The Redskins selected Brandon Scherff 5th overall in 2015, but has become a Pro Bowl guard despite being listed as a tackle in the NFL Draft. We finally just saw the New York Giants select Andrew Thomas 4th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, and even then we heard rumors about how the Giants wanted to trade down to take their tackle.
It has been nearly a decade since we have seen a tackle be the 1st pick in the NFL Draft, but the University of Oregon might just have the guy to break that drought. A giant by the name of Penei Sewell.
Sewell attended Desert Hills High School in St. George, Utah where he was a 4-star prospect. He was the consensus best player in the state of Utah and the 2nd ranked offensive guard in the Class of 2018 according to 247Sports.com. The cherry on top of it all was his selection to the U.S. Army All-American game in San Antonio, Texas.
As you could imagine he had offers from pretty much anywhere, but he decided to call Eugene, Oregon his new home. He would join 4-star prospect, and now star safety for the Ducks, Jevon Holland to help build a nice frame to what will be an uber talented 2020 roster.
As a true freshman Penei was thrust into the starting line up, and held his own. His style of play is exactly what new head coach Mario Cristobal wanted Oregon’s offensive identity to become. Sadly his freshman season, much like the Ducks entire 2018, ended earlier than you wanted to see. Still though, Sewell would flash his physical traits that would foreshadow a dominant sophomore campaign.
The Ducks would have the best offensive line in all of football in 2019, headlined by Sewell himself. Oregon’s offense would average 435.5 total yards a game, 178 of them being rushing. They would rush their way to a Pac-12 Championship and a bid to the 2020 Rose Bowl, which they would go on to win 28-27.
Pro Football Focus rated the Ducks offensive line the best in college football, who allowed a sack on just 3% of offensive snaps last season. Even more impressive is the fact that not a single one of those sacks was on Sewell; he has currently gone 466 offensive snaps without allowing a sack.
Sewell would receive a 95.9 overall grade for his 2019-20 season, which is the highest ever recorded for a left tackle. Not just in college, but for Pro Football Focus as a whole. Not only that but he was the only offensive tackle to receive over a 90.0 in both run and pass blocking last season.
He is one of the most physically dominating offensive linemen I have ever seen. It blows me away how often, and effortlessly, he pins down defensive linemen that weigh 260+ Lbs. On top of that he won’t be turning 20 until October of this next season.
As you could imagine he would receive many more accolades for his dominant 2019 performance. He was awarded the Outlander Trophy for the nation’s top offensive lineman, and the Morris Trophy which goes to the best offensive lineman in the Pac-12.
There is blocking, and then there is whatever Penei Sewell does. In his entire career with the Ducks he has only allowed just seven pressures. It blows me away that a 19 year old kid (now 20) could physically dominate other players that weigh over 275+ pounds, with ease.
With the Pac-12 beginning their 2020-21 season this weekend, we sadly will still be missing Penei Sewell as he has opted out for the year. Nevertheless, this is one of the most well rounded prospects I have ever scouted and is my first left tackle I would consider “franchise changing”.
We normally see teams tank for quarterbacks, but Sewell carries that type of talent as well. Don’t be surprised if teams decide to pack things early as we get closer to the 2021 NFL Draft. The Dallas Cowboys, or the Los Angeles Chargers could both see the value for tanking for Penei Sewell. Both teams have young, franchise quarterbacks that need to be protected at all costs.
