NFL Analyst Projects Penei Sewell Will Be First-Time Pro Bowler in 2021

For the first time in eight seasons, the Detroit Lions had three players named to the 2021 Pro Bowl.

Tight end T.J. Hockenson, center Frank Ragnow and punter Jack Fox were all first-time honorees.

For a rebuilding franchise, adding players via the draft or in free agency who produce at a high level is critical, especially for a new regime.

NFL writer Marc Sessler explored with player on each NFC roster has the potential to become a first-time pro bowler this season.

For the Lions, it is rookie offensive lineman Penei Sewell, who was selected with the seventh overall pick in this past year's draft.

"If you're Detroit, you'd like Sewell to mimic the first season of future Hall of Famer Joe Thomas, who starred at tackle from wire to wire in 2007 and waltzed directly into the Pro Bowl," Sessler wrote.

It may take a few games for Sewell to adjust playing at right tackle, but his former head coach at Oregon, Mario Cristobal, believes he the 20-year-old lineman should make the transition easily.

Sessler added, "Preparation will be key as Sewell is being asked to switch from left to right tackle after opting out of his final season at Oregon. So far, so good, though, with Lions guard Jonah Jackson saying in June: "They say he's a 20-year-old, but he acts like a grown man with how he handles himself. ... You see why he was the No. 7 overall pick." By comparison, at age 20, I was softly released from a summer house-painting gig after spilling a bucket of white paint all over somebody's precious roof."

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