With the 152nd pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions selected offensive tackle Colby Sorsdal out of William & Mary.
Through all their wheeling and dealing on Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions hung onto their own fifth-round pick. With that pick, No. 152 overall, they selected William & Mary offensive tackle Colby Sorsdal.
Sorsdal was not projected to be drafted by many analysts. But he is experienced, starting 46 games at right tackle for the Tribe. In 2021 he was a Third Team All-CAA selection, and he followed that with a First Team All-CAA selection last year.
Offensive line guru Duke Manyweather is a fan of Sorsdal.
.@Lions just got the sleeper of the draft @colby_sorsdal 🦾🦾🦾
— Duke Manyweather (@BigDuke50) April 29, 2023
As is NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger.
.@WMTribeFootball @colby_sorsdal is a day 3 prospect who wasn’t invited to the combine was has 4 critical components; he has size, he has experience , moves very well; and most of all he has toughness. Good looking prospect to me. #nfldraft #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/lB6DVyOGJV
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) April 8, 2023
With that, let’s look at the scouting report on Sorsdal from Lance Zierlein of NFL.com.
"StrengthsTeam captain with 46 career starts.Quality athletic ability with solid lateral quickness.Accelerates into contact and rolls hips through contact.Experience at tackle should help with move to guard.Easy into space as second-level blocker or in screen game.WeaknessesShort arms and small hands for a lineman.Anchor gets checked with subpar results.Has trouble sinking hands in and locking out rushers.Base becomes too narrow when redirecting against inside moves.Will need to play with much better hip bend and pad level as a pro.Just average drive power against lesser competition."
For what it’s worth, Manyweather had a response on Twitter dismissing the idea Sorsdal lacks length.
Lack of length? 34 inch arms? Just a better fit at OG https://t.co/MdOY6fyUOo
— Duke Manyweather (@BigDuke50) April 29, 2023
Ryan Vidales of NFL Draft Diamonds had a early fourth round to mid-fifth round projection for Sorsdal.
2023 NFL Draft: Colby Sorsdal set to compete for roster spot, but future starter?
The Lions are set at the offensive tackle spots for awhile, with Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker. Decker has two years left on his contract, but at 30 years old he won’t necessarily be moving on at that point and a contract extension could come sometime over the next year or so.
But if Sorsdal best projects as a guard in the NFL, and he very well might, that’s where he may have a place with the Lions. The right guard situation is fluid beyond this season, with Halapoulivaati Vaitai now on an expiring contract and Graham Glasgow coming back to Detroit on a one-year deal this offseason.
Sorsdal will start out competing for a roster spot, and he may be stashed on the practice squad to start his NFL career. But it’s possible he sticks, and becomes the starter for the Lions at right guard down the road.