NFL Draft Profile: Noah Sewell, Linebacker, Oregon Ducks
In this story:
#1
Pos: LB
Ht: 6015
Wt: 246
Hand: 1000
Arm: 3158
Wing: 7638
40: 4.64
DOB: 4/26/2002
Hometown: Malaeimi, AS
High School: Orem
Eligibility: 2023
Noah Sewell
Oregon Ducks
One-Liner:
One of the top players on Oregon’s star-studded 2021 defense, Noah Sewell is a well-rounded downhill player who excels against the run and can add value as a pass rusher early in the NFL; still, he must refine his work in coverage, develop his instincts, and clean up his tackling. All the same, Sewell projects as an immediate contributor or low-level starter with Pro Bowl upside.
Evaluation:
In recent years, the linebacker position has trended toward smaller coverage specialists. That said, NFL teams still need large, run-defending linebackers. Oregon’s Noah Sewell is an impressive athlete at a school-listed 6030 and 251 pounds whose early impact in the NFL will come as a downhill player. A fluid and sudden mover with clean soft change of direction, the American Samoa native and Utah high school product boasts impressive hand usage, power, and flexibility against blockers to avoid engagement or shed if need be. From the second level, he avoids pressing the line of scrimmage against the run prematurely and works to the ball carrier through traffic seamlessly. Sewell can and does functionally two-gap from his off-ball alignment. He brings notable stopping power to the tackle point. As a pass rusher, Sewell plays with impressive bend and can win with legitimate ghost and dip-rip moves. His speed is solid. He has above-average range at the second level in run defense and coverage. Though he is still unrefined in all forms of coverage, Sewell has the athleticism to handle simple man coverage assignments. He takes sound angles in man and can mirror some running backs and tight ends. His transitions are clean in zone. His ability to leverage routes keeps him in phase against opponents with movement skills that are superior to his. Sewell has excellent click and close, especially when working downhill. That said, the Oregon standout is unreliable in coverage. He bites on play action too often and can lock onto specific routes in zone. He is unable to properly feel out route combinations and, instead, relies heavily on the quarterback’s body language and eyes. Consequently, he is regularly manipulated by passers. In zone coverage, he does not feel route combinations out and he takes awkward angles to pass-catchers. He abandons his responsibility once he sees the quarterback escape the pocket. In man, his hand placement on route runners is underdeveloped. He stares the quarterback down and loses track of his assignment. In run defense, Sewell is too easily controlled or driven once opponents land hands to his frame. As a tackler, the Ducks’ linebacker takes improper angles to the ball carrier and engages with a high pad level. His grip strength is underwhelming and his effort is questionable. He is disinterested in gang tackling. Sewell is an immediate contributor with Pro Bowl upside.
Grade:
2nd-3rd Round
Quotes:
"I think with Noah--I think he's got a high football IQ. He's been well trained by his dad and brothers who were also really good football players. He's got a very high ceiling, he's got a very high learning curve. He loves football, he's always asking questions, he's very smart." – Oregon defensive coordinator Ken Wilson on Noah Sewell.
For a player like Sewell--who many college coaches initially viewed as a lineman--to come in and quickly become one of the top players on Oregon's defense is no small feat. He's one of the most college-ready players we've seen come through Eugene, which speaks volumes to not only his talent, but also his intelligence and instinct on the field.
"He started football for us last year on 17 fall practices and he was in playing Stanford so that's the kind of IQ he has with football," Wilson said of his star linebacker.
Background:
Noah Sewell was a five star prospect coming from Malaeimi, American Samoa and while he attended Orem High School in Utah. During his impressive four year high school career, he finished with two hundred and twenty four tackles, with one hundred and sixteen of them being solo. As a freshman for the Ducks, he led his team in tackles and was voted at the Pac 12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year. In 2021, he eclipsed one hundred tackles, the first to do so since Troy Dye in 2018. Sewell has had an impressive start to his college football career, and in 2022, he will look to be one of the dominant players in the Pac 12.
Noah is the baby of the family, though he stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 250 pounds. The 2020 Orem High graduate He opted to play for Oregon after watching the success there of his brother Penei. So, while Noah had 25 scholarship offers as a senior and Penei had around 17, Nephi had two. He opted to join Gabe Jr. in Nevada. Missed the second half of the Oregon State game in 2022 due to Minor shoulder injury. Was the first five-star recruit to come out of Utah in nearly 20 years. Nephi, the third in the Sewell line behind sister Gabriella and Gabe Jr., had less of a shine to him when he graduated from Desert Hills High in St. George in 2017.
