After a long, hard NFL season, postseason accolades and honors are always on the back of players' minds. If you ask most players, they’d tell you they don’t think about it much, or the team’s success is more important than any individual honor. Some players are extremely forthright with how important those distinctions are to them, though those honest guys are few and far between. Those honors will always matter. When a player’s career is over, being able to call yourself a Pro Bowler or an All-Pro is a lifelong accomplishment. In some cases, receiving those recognitions also has financial ramifications.
Whether it be reaching a contract incentive, a marketability increase, or added value to memorabilia like the booming trading card Industry. For the third year, the National Football League Players Association has announced their All-Pro selections voted on by the NFL’s players across the league. The legacy media All-Pro team will undeniably always hold significance, but being chosen by a group of peers means something entirely different. Former Oregon Ducks, now Detroit Lions, offensive tackle Penei Sewell was named the starting right tackle on the NFLPA All-Pro Team by his peers across the league.
The best player Deebo Samuel has ever played with is a player that many have been comparing to Lions OT Penei Sewell ✍️ pic.twitter.com/12jVGybxhn
— St. Brown Podcast (@StBrownPodcast) January 7, 2025
“Penei is a dog. Penei is OD. He does some stuff where I’m like yo. He’s the coldest lineman I’ve ever seen,” said All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown on the St. Brown Podcast with special guest Deebo Samuel. “Obviously Trent [Williams] is one of the best to ever do it, but Penei, he’s only 23.”
Sewell being only 23 years old puts into perspective how dominant he’s been in such a short period. It feels like he’s been around for a decade. So much so that he’s now being put in the conversation with future Hall of Famers like Trent Williams and Lane Johnson while being considered one of the best amongst his contemporaries like Tristan Wirfs and Rashawn Slater. The comparisons are well worth it as Sewell’s arguably on the Hall of Fame track himself.
The respect he has from the NFL brotherhood is apparent. Will that love seep over into the media accolades when the legacy media awards roll in? That remains to be seen. It’s a tight race this year between the tackle group and voters don’t always vote for a right and left tackle. There are debates about whether or not there should be a position vote as opposed to just selecting the two or three best tackles regardless of the side. Historically, right tackles have been given the short end of the stick there, but players like Sewell are helping change that way of thinking.
The good thing for Sewell is, assuming he stays healthy and motivated, he’ll have another ten years to rack up these types of accolades as he continues to get better.
