The Oregon Ducks held their pro day workout on Friday with all 32 NFL teams in attendance. Representing the Lions in Eugene: offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn.
There may be some significance to choosing to send Lynn. While most of the Oregon draft prospects are on defense–they have at least three defensive backs who should get selected in the draft later this month–the biggest Duck on the draft radar is offensive tackle Penei Sewell. And he’s very much in play for the Lions at No. 7 overall…if he lasts that long.
Sewell put on an impressive workout for a 20-year-old, 335-pound man standing just under 6-foot-5. While he had weirdly short arms (33 1/4 inches, very short for his height), Sewell stood out otherwise as a very good athlete for his size and position.
Penei Sewell is a OT prospect in the 2021 draft class. He scored a 9.08 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 105 out of 1131 OT from 1987 to 2021.
Splits projected, times unofficial.https://t.co/YftnGl7Zal #RAS pic.twitter.com/8P5pBxKl43
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 2, 2021
Sewell is by far the consensus choice in mock drafts for the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 5 overall, but there is some school of thought the Bengals could instead select LSU wideout Ja’marr Chase to reunite him with QB Joe Burrow.
Offensive tackle isn’t a pressing need for the Lions but adding Sewell would potentially shore up the position for years. There are some warts to Sewell’s game (he’ll overextend in space and stays too high in the run game at times) and he opted out of playing in 2020, so it’s a risky proposition to take him at No. 7. But Sewell has a chance to be a great NFL offensive tackle and the Lions appear intrigued in possibly having that happen in Detroit.
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