Local writer rips Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes for selecting OT Penei Sewell

Most people seem pretty happy about the Detroit Lions selecting OT Penei Sewell with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft but some are not too thrilled that Lions GM Brad Holmes took an offensive lineman when the offensive line is already a strength.

One of those people is Detroit Free Press writer, Jeff Seidel, who immediately tossed up a bunch of words ripping Holmes for applying an “outdated way of thinking.”

Here is some of what Seidel had to say.

Building from the trenches is an outdated way of thinking; I question how much draft capital the Lions have now devoted to it. The Lions will roll out an offensive line that features three first rounders: Sewell, tackle Taylor Decker (the 16th pick in 2016) and Frank Ragnow (No. 20 in 2018).

Yes, you need a good offensive line to do anything in the NFL.

And you can argue that building up the line makes the entire offense better. And it does.

But I’m talking about stepping back and thinking about team building. And you don’t need to stack an offensive line with future Hall of Famers — or even first-rounders — to get to the playoffs. In fact, the majority of teams don’t do that. Last year, only two of 14 playoff teams featured an offensive line with three first-rounders: the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts.

Seidel went on to list a bunch of Super Bowl winners and how many first-round picks they had on the offensive line. (He failed to mention whether or not those Super Bowl offensive lines had players who played like a first-round pick).

This is a very weak take by Seidel, who clearly does not understand how the NFL works and he definitely does not get what Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell are trying to do with the Lions.

That being said, we are all entitled to our own opinion. Seidel just happens to have the wrong opinion ;)