Detroit Lions right tackle Penei Sewell is a baller. That’s why in 2023 he was a first team All-NFL and made the Pro Bowl. It’s because he’s the best tackle in football right now. That’s why he’s now the highest paid tackle in football too.
According to Pro Football Focus, Sewell is actually the third best tackle in the game. They ranked 49ers tackle Trent Williams and Bucs tackle Tristan Wirfs ahead of him in their latest ranking.
The thing that doesn’t make any sense is that they had Sewell graded out higher than both last year. Sewell’s 92.8 PFF grade was the highest of all tackles in the NFL last year. It was the highest for all offensive linemen put together. They had Williams behind him at 92.6 and Wirfs was an 83.5.
It wasn’t just the total grade. Sewell had the highest run blocking grade too with a 95.1. Williams had a 92.6 and Wirfs had a 73.8.
In terms of pass blocking, this is where Sewell had a lower grade, Despite allowing just 25 pressures and one sack in 2023, Sewell got a 79.2 pass block grade. Williams got an 84.3 and Wirfs got a 86.1. Wirfs allowed five sacks and 24 pressures.
It seems like the grading is kind of all over the place here. I don’t know how someone who allows nearly the same pressures and more sacks has a significantly higher grade.
Here’s the thing. If you want to make the case for Williams being higher, I can hear that case. He’s got grades that are almost the same as Sewell’s and his pass blocking grade is better. He’s also a four time All-Pro and 11 time Pro Bowler. A future Hall of Famer for sure. One of the best to ever do it.
Sewell probably needs more time to pass Williams. That is fine. That’s a totally logical argument. But Wirfs? We can’t see that one. Especially after last season.
Wirfs is very good and should be high on the list. He should be in the third spot that Sewell is residing in. If you want to say that Wirfs should be higher becasue he can play both right and left, that’s not a big enough argument. Sewell can also play right and left and he’s done it a lot and done it well.
We’ll see what happens in 2024. Sewell should be heading right back to that first team All-Pro spot. Taylor Decker was ranked 14th on that list by the way. That seems about right.