The Detroit Lions’ offensive line may have had a down year in 2025, but there were never any worries about the man anchoring the right side of it.
Tackle Penei Sewell was among the nominees for the NFL’s inaugural Protector of the Year award, to be given annually to the league’s best offensive lineman starting this season.
Sewell joined five other players on the shortlist: Denver Broncos tackle Garett Bolles, Miami Dolphins center Aaron Brewer, Kansas City Chiefs center Creed Humphrey, Broncos guard Quinn Meinerz and Bears guard/tackle Joe Thuney.
Sewell earns Protector of the Year Award nomination for 2025 season
A panel of retired offensive linemen vote on the award based on criteria including: “Skill Metrics”, “Impact,” “Leadership,” “Durability” and “Strength of Opponent”. The award was championed by Buffalo Bills’ left tackle Dion Dawkins in an effort to bring more recognition to offensive linemen.
Sewell has been one of the NFL’s best linemen since the Lions drafted him seventh overall in 2021. He’s been a first-team All-Pro in each of the past three seasons, especially drawing praise for his run blocking.
“He is one of our pillars from day one,” head coach Dan Campbell said of Sewell in September. "And he’s a guy that sets the tone, he’s a phenomenal athlete, his work ethic, everything we’ve talked about up to this point, man. And so, we are blessed and fortunate to have him.”
Sewell himself wasn’t all that happy with how he played, though. It doesn't really sound like he’d nominate himself for any awards.
“This year alone, it wasn't my best ball,” he said. "It was far from that. And I'm a firm believer [that] it starts with me up front. I believe that I'm gonna set the tone. I'm gonna make plays that typically O-linemen don't make. So this year was definitely a down year for me and we'll start with that. All the other stuff, I'll leave it up to the coaches, but going into this next season, that'll be on my mind.”
If Sewell is highly critical of his 2025 season, he might be the only one. Pro Football Focus gave him a 95.2 overall grade, which led all offensive linemen this year. His run-blocking grade of 96.8 is the best of any right tackle over the past five years.
Sewell only allowed pressure on a career-best 3.3% of pass plays, which ranked second-lowest among right tackles and fifth among tackles overall.
Despite another excellent campaign from Sewell manning the right side, the rest of the Lions’ offensive line took a major step back after the surprise retirement of All-Pro center Frank Ragnow in the offseason.
READ MORE: Browns' self-created Jim Schwartz dilemma could help the Lions
Tackle Taylor Decker battled injuries all season and saw a decline in his performance, center Graham Glasgow wasn’t anywhere near a suitable Ragnow replacement and second-year guard Christian Mahogany looked overmatched in his first full year as a starter. Rookie guard Tate Ratledge looked like a building block for the future, but even he had his share of first-year struggles.
The Lions’ running game fell to 25th in the NFL in estimated points added per play after ranking seventh the season before in 2924. Quarterback Jared Goff, whose lack of mobility was exacerbated more than ever before under high rates of pressure, was sacked a career-high 38 times.
It wasn’t the season anyone in the building wanted or expected to have, especially up front. So it may seem a little strange to see a Lion turn up on the inaugural nominee list for an offensive lineman award after the narrative all season was that Detroit’s poor play up front held the team back.
But if anything, it’s just an endorsement of Sewell and shows how much worse things would’ve been without him. With no All-Pro holding down the right side, Detroit’s offense may have gone from disappointing to disastrous in 2025.
Priority No. 1 for the Lions this offseason should be getting the offensive line shored up. It helps that they’ve already got Sewell in place, and Ratledge will likely return as a starter as well. But the outlook beyond those two is more uncertain and will be a race against time for Detroit to figure out.
“Going into this offseason, we’ve just got to find who we are and get our swagger back, get our confidence back,” Sewell said. “It starts with the guys that are already here. We’ve got to each get better and want to get better, not just only for ourselves but for each other.”
It wasn’t a great year for the Lions in 2025, particularly on the offensive line. But a sign of hope for their future– and a testament to the talent on their roster— is that even at one of its most maligned position groups, they’ve still got players up for national awards.