Week 3 Film Room Short - Lions RT Penei Sewell

Examining a handful of plays from Sewell's Week 3 matchup against Danielle Hunter and the Vikings that showcase his special combination of size, athletic ability and rapidly improving technique

Sep 29, 2022

∙ Paid

As I was working through my film study from Week 3 on Thursday, I turned on the tape of the Lions offensive line against the Vikings, and the first play was a tackle-pull of Penei Sewell. The play’s intent was for Sewell to kick out the force defender, only the defensive back he was tasked with blocking was located on the opposite side of the field.

Sewell feinted and executed a beautiful, subtle fake on Vikings star DE Danielle Hunter to impede his track to the ball-carrier before turning on the jets and tracking down his target outside of the numbers from the opposite hashmark. It was a spectacular display of athletic ability at 335 pounds with a touch of craftsmanship that speaks to Sewell’s special talent.

I was transfixed on Sewell for the remainder of the game, and after studying every snap of his performance - including his matchup with star pass-rusher Danielle Hunter - knew I had to dissect what took place in a film room rather than just post the clips on Twitter (although I did that too).

In his second season at only 21-years old and in his 11th start playing right tackle since high school, Sewell is doing more than flashing the unique talent and physical skills that made him a phenom at Oregon. He’s showing veteran savvy typically reserved for players much older and more experienced in the process.

This film room uncovers and sifts through how all of that transpired in a memorable game in what should be a long line of them in Sewell’s young career.

Preview: Sewell as the frontside tackle on a play-action pass executing a snatch-trap technique that puts Danielle Hunter on his face