Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell is a big dude.
Standing at six foot five inches and carrying 335 pounds of weight, he's a hard lineman to bowl over. It's part of what makes him such an elite tackle in the NFL, and why he should be a shoo-in for the newly minted Protector of the Year award in the NFL for the 2025 season.
Despite that towering size, though, Sewell recently told reporters ahead of workouts that he has plans to get even stronger, more physical, and bigger, while still maintaining the same speed that's made him such an elite run blocker in the league. That strength and size can only lend itself to Sewell looking to improve in his pass blocking, which is a truly terrifying prospect for opponents.
Sewell looking to get even bigger and stronger for 2025 season
Detroit Lions beat reporter Ben Raven shared to Twitter/X that Sewell's offseason plans include him trying to get "bigger and stronger" while "maintaining his conditioning." That's a huge committment and feat to make if you're someone like Sewell who is already pretty atop the league's tackles in both strength and size.
Watching back any clips of Sewell from the 2024 season, you can also see his quickness despite his size being able to help him open things up for Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery throughout the year. He was doling out pancakes left and right, and as a result, he managed to pick up a run blocking grade of 90.5 from PFF.
Sewell allowed just one sack in 1,114 snaps played for the Lions in 2024, and also only allowed five hits over that span. He was ever-reliable in coverage for both Detroit's elite running back room and for Jared Goff, who benefitted greatly from a clean pocket. He managed to sneak his way into the MVP conversation in large thanks to Sewell's blocking.
If he can get stronger this offseason without sacrificing his speed, then we're looking at a career-year as a pass blocker for Sewell in addition to his already-great run blocking. That would help to get Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Sam LaPorta all going early, and would help Detroit over the major hump that is their first half of season schedule.
