Through three NFL seasons, Detroit Lions right tackle Penei Sewell is on an early track to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It’s of course too early to make a firm declaration, but health-permitting the 23-year old two-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro will have a bust in Canton someday.
Hank Fraley played center for 10 years (2001-2010) in the NFL, with the Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns and St. Louis Rams. He has now become one of the top offensive line coaches in the league, and that would be the case even if he didn’t have the high-level pupils he does on Detroit.
Fraley spent four years with the Browns (2006-2009), starting every game over his first three seasons. He played on an offensive line in Cleveland alongside a Hall of Famer who reputedly never missed a snap until he suffered a torn triceps during his final season.
Hank Fraley gives Penei Sewell some Hall of Fame praise
Fraley was one of the Lions’ assistant coaches that spoke with the media on Tuesday. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, he lauded Sewell (who wouldn’t?) and compared him to the Hall of Fame offensive lineman with whom he played in Cleveland.
He reminds me a lot of Joe Thomas, just how he prepares, how he takes care of himself, his mental mind makeup and going out there on that daily grind to become a good player or great player like Joe,” Fraley said. “So that’s what I get to see, that daily competition within himself and with everybody else out here. It doesn’t stop.”
Thomas was once the NFL’s highest-paid offensive tackle, as Sewell is now with to the lucrative contract he got this offseason. Fraley did not predict that Sewell would be a first-ballot Hall of Famer like Thomas, but he did observe that the Lions’ captain had remained consistent since signing his new contract. “It didn’t change him in a negative way,” Fraley added. “One of his best qualities is his ability to remain grounded and humble. He absolutely deserved it. I’m so thrilled for him and his family, but he’s still as hungry as he was before he received that contract.”
It’s still amazing to realize Sewell will only turn 24 during the coming season. He has come to embrace his role as a leader and a tone setter for the Lions, along with being the best in the league at his position. His being rewarded as all of those things was always inevitable, and the Lions didn’t wait to get it done.
