The Lions held their position at No. 7 overall on Thursday night and selected Oregon tackle Penei Sewell, setting themselves up for a strong offensive line to protect quarterback Jared Goff.
Sewell is slated to play right tackle, creating a third anchor point with left tackle Taylor Decker and center Frank Ragnow. After making the pick, first-year General Manager Brad Holmes said the idea was to add to a position of strength and make it even greater.
“He’s going to be an integral and an impactful piece to our franchise going forward for years to come,” Holmes said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “He’s going to be a great addition to our offensive line. He’s just a transcendent talent. I can’t quite remember a guy that had feet like him in a long time, but it’s not just the athletic ability. He’s got the toughness, he’s got the grit, he’s got the strength, he’s got the intangibles that we’re looking for.”
Holmes makes Sewell sound exactly like the kind of kneecap biter head coach Dan Campbell said he wanted in his opening press conference. But more than that, Holmes feels like Sewell is being put in a great situation to succeed.
“We have enough veteran players in that room that can really provide guidance to Penei,” Holmes said. “He just has to be himself. He’s not under any pressure to be this or that. He just has to come in and we’ll allow him to develop and evolve to the position and to the unit.”