2021 NFL Draft: Oregon OT Penei Sewell worth every ounce of praise

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 19: Penei Sewell #58 of the Oregon Ducks looks on prior to taking on the Washington Huskies during their game at Husky Stadium on October 19, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 19: Penei Sewell #58 of the Oregon Ducks looks on prior to taking on the Washington Huskies during their game at Husky Stadium on October 19, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
3 of 4
PALO ALTO, CA – SEPTEMBER 21: Justin Herbert #10 and Penei Sewell #58 of the Oregon Ducks celebrate a touchdown pass during an NCAA Pac-12 college football game against the Stanford Cardinal on September 21, 2019 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA – SEPTEMBER 21: Justin Herbert #10 and Penei Sewell #58 of the Oregon Ducks celebrate a touchdown pass during an NCAA Pac-12 college football game against the Stanford Cardinal on September 21, 2019 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images)

Where can Sewell improve?

One has to become extremely nitpicky in order to find extreme flaws in the game of Penei Sewell. He is going to be the first tackle taken off the board in the 2021 NFL Draft for a reason, and he would have likely have been a top-ten pick in this year’s draft if he was eligible to make the leap to the professional level.

There really are no glaring weaknesses in Sewell’s game, but the weakest part of his game would be his anchor strength. Sewell has ample strength to win at the college level and against Pac-12 defenders, but he may have room to add some strength to his frame. The only skepticism about adding more muscle to be considered would be if it were to compromise any of his lateral movement or quickness off the line of scrimmage.

Other than the rare occurance of him losing to power off the edge, there are seemingly no holes in Sewell’s game based off of his 2019 film. Players rise and fall when given the opportunity to play another full season of college ball before entering the draft, so this could change.

I, for one, would not bet on that being the case for Penei Sewell.