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Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson practices with offensive tackle Penei Sewell before the Broncos game Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Penei Sewell: 'I Don't Have a Break' Against Aidan Hutchinson

Originally posted on Detroit Lions on SI
By Emmett Matasovsky | Last updated Aug 28, 2025 3:01 PM ET

When discussing the Detroit Lions’ turnaround under Dan Campbell, Brad Holmes’ first draft class became the catalyst for the rebuild.

Penei Sewell and Amon-Ra St. Brown have become productive staples in Detroit, and the lineman recently appeared on the "St. Brown Bros Podcast" to discuss a wide variety of topics.

From facing off against first-round pick Aidan Hutchinson to the best player Sewell has played against, the Oregon product revealed a side that is rarely shown to the public.

The top burning question about Sewell is the challenges of facing Aidan Hutchinson every day in practice. The two are arguably the best at their respective positions, and that energy makes each game week a double-edged sword.

“It’s a double-edged sword for me, man. It’s frustrating,” Sewell admitted. “Like every day, going against Hutch, I don’t have a break. If I don’t match his energy, I’m not going to be able to do my job. But Sundays, everything just is slow. Going against him is frustrating, but I’m grateful for it.”

Questions about former Arkansas Razorbacks

Another burning question for the veteran lineman was the retirement of Frank Ragnow, the longtime Lions’ center that anchored the line. Sewell discussed the difficulties of losing the All-Pro with St. Brown, but voiced support for new center Graham Glasgow.

“I’m still recovering, honestly. He was the nose of our operation,” Sewell said. "There’s no one like Frank. He was in the early meetings with our quarterbacks, going over different looks, safeties, corners, he made it easy for everybody. Luckily, we have Graham. He’s been in and out, he’s a veteran, that helps.”

When Sewell was asked about Isaac TeSlaa, the offensive lineman first talked about the size that the newest Arkansas product brought to the room. Afterwards, he discussed the top thing on a lineman’s mind, the player’s blocking.

“Just off the bat, we don’t have a lot of tall receivers, so that’s a good addition, different dynamic to the room.” Sewell pointed out. “I heard he was a blocker and then one time he had a crazy block in the scrimmage, I think in the endzone.”

Upbringing and draft day thoughts

The NFL lineage in the Sewells was something that the St. Browns both noted, and Sewell discussed the challenges he faced. The lineman is the only offensive player among his brothers, with the change to that side of the ball coming due to his inability to move as fast as he would like during his high school years.

The tackle hated pass protection during this move to the offensive side of things, which is ironic in retrospect with his high grades and praise from grading services and his fellow players. That said, the lineman also discussed enjoying run blocking more than pass protection to this day.

“Pass pro? I hated it at first,” Sewell admitted. “These guys are just teeing off and I have to stop them. The whole mentality changed.”

Draft night was an experience for the lineman, who experienced a mini-slide during the first round. Originally, the lineman was projected to the Cincinnati Bengals, but slid a few selections, even past his original backup belief, the Miami Dolphins.

Detroit was a team that did not meet with the Oregon product a ton, but their one meeting left a strong impression. The lineman was just grateful for his slide being over, and did not care about Detroit’s recent lack of success at the time.

“I had like one meeting with the Lions,” Sewell revealed. “It was like two days, three days before the draft. It was my only meeting. And then the Dolphins took Jaylen (Waddle). Then Detroit was up, and they called quick. I picked up the phone, I heard Sheila, Brad, and Dan. Everything else went quiet. I was just glad I got a call, to be honest.”

However, the Lions’ run of losses during Sewell’s rookie year did make the lineman admit that it was horrible at points. With his pedigree for success, it was hard for the tackle. However, he kept hope and optimism for the next season.

“Rookie year, that is when I was like ‘damn, this is horrible.’ I went from winning like my whole life, high school, college, just winning,” Sewell said. “We only won like three games, and our first win was like Week 14? I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can keep doing this, man.’ I was just hoping next year, next fall would be better.”

Another player offers high praise for Jahmyr Gibbs

After giving a three-way tie between Aidan Hutchinson, David Montgomery, and Jahmyr Gibbs for the best player Sewell had ever played with, the lineman did cave under pressure from Equanimeous St. Brown and call Gibbs the best player he has ever played with.

He becomes the second player to say voice hype for Gibbs this month, with Montgomery echoing sentiments about the Alabama product being the best running back in the league soon, if not currently.

Award discussions

During the NFL offseason, the league announced the addition of the Protector of the Year award, which some fans and pundits called the Penei Sewell Award. For the lineman, the accolade would be nice, but he was focused on a team award at the end of the season.

“I think it would be something cool to win, but it is not on my mind,” the lineman claimed. “You already know, there is something bigger that we are working to, but would definitely want to win it.”

This article first appeared on Detroit Lions on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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