The debate about Penei Sewell versus Rashawn Slater as the top offensive tackle prospect in the 2021 NFL draft has heated up lately. After Slater’s recent pro day, where he measured in with shorter arm than desired by most NFL teams, many fans have pegged the talented Northwestern tackle as a guard-only in the NFL.
I decided to try and combat some of that noise by breaking down the physical attributes of Slater and how they compare to Sewell, whose draft stock seems impervious to criticism by many fans. That’s especially true for Detroit Lions fans with the No. 7 overall pick, where Sewell is a very popular projection but any talk of Slater is often met with aghast disgust.
In conjunction with the Detroit Lions Podcast, here is a quick video asserting why Slater is a perfectly fine option at tackle and why Sewell is actually the better prospect to move inside to guard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmmNrRY2sY0
And, as stated in the video, Slater and Sewell are ranked right next to each other on my big board and either one is a perfectly acceptable choice for the Lions if they choose to go offensive line in the first round.