Take away the Lions’ quarterback and the season collapses. Take away their best non-QB, and it might’ve unraveled anyway. Remove Penei Sewell from last year’s roster, and Detroit isn’t a contender — it’s fighting to stay above .500.
The Detroit Lions have star power across the roster. Quarterback stability, elite skill talent and a fast, attacking defense have fueled the franchise’s resurgence. But if you remove one non-quarterback from the equation, the entire operation changes.
That player is Penei Sewell.
It is not a knock on Aidan Hutchinson or Amon-Ra St. Brown, both cornerstone talents. Hutchinson is the heartbeat of the pass rush. St. Brown is the engine of the passing game. But Sewell is the foundation that allows everything else to function at a high level.
And if you took him off the roster last season, it is hard to envision Detroit winning more than seven games.
Sewell has been a first-team All-Pro selection for three consecutive seasons, a rare feat for any offensive lineman, let alone one still in his mid-20s. He also posted the highest Pro Football Focus grade among all offensive linemen last season, reinforcing what film study already shows: he is one of the premier tackles in the NFL.
His value begins in the run game. Detroit’s identity under coach Dan Campbell has been rooted in physicality. The Lions want to control the line of scrimmage, lean on defenses and dictate tempo. Sewell’s combination of power, athleticism and finishing ability makes that possible. He consistently erases elite edge rushers and climbs to the second level with rare explosiveness for a 330-pound tackle.
Remove Sewell, and that edge disappears.
Without him anchoring the right side, Detroit’s rushing attack becomes far more ordinary. Defensive coordinators no longer have to slide protection or account for his dominance snap after snap. The Lions’ ability to run behind their best blocker in critical short-yardage and red-zone situations diminishes significantly.
The ripple effect hits the passing game just as hard.
Even the most efficient quarterbacks struggle when pressured. Sewell’s presence stabilizes protection schemes and allows Detroit to be flexible with help assignments. His ability to handle top-tier pass rushers one-on-one frees tight ends and running backs to get into routes instead of chipping.
Take him away, and protection issues multiply. The Lions’ offensive line, which already endured stretches of inconsistent play last season, would have been stretched beyond its limits. Extra pressure leads to hurried throws, stalled drives and turnovers. Suddenly, St. Brown’s precision routes and the downfield concepts lose their timing.
Football games often swing on a handful of snaps. A missed block on third-and-4. A pressure that forces an incompletion in the red zone. Sewell routinely prevents those negative plays. Without him, they become more common.
It is tempting to argue that an elite pass rusher like Hutchinson is more important because he affects the opposing quarterback. Or that St. Brown’s reliability on third down drives the offense. Both cases carry weight.
But the Lions are built from the trenches outward. Their offense flows through dominance up front. Sewell is the best player on that unit and arguably the best offensive lineman in football right now.
If he were removed from last year’s roster, Detroit’s margin for error would have vanished. Close wins likely flip. Offensive efficiency dips. The physical edge that defines the team dulls.
Seven wins might have been the ceiling.
That is what true value looks like. Sewell is not just a star. He is the structure holding the Lions’ contender status in place.