Slater over Sewell

[*Synric*]

The Draft Network just did an excellent write up of Penei Sewell vs Rashawn Slater.

https://thedraftnetwork.com/articles/penei-sewell-rashawn-slater-ot1-2021-nfl-draft

My favorite quote:

Quote:This is where Slater has Sewell beat. He’s simply more technically proficient than Sewell, as so many of his reps paint the ideal picture for tackle play. But for that polish, he isn’t more effective than Sewell. Slater remains a victim of suboptimal size for bookend play. Bull-rushes will get inside of his chest and fold him back. In the rare instances in which Slater fails to frame a rusher appropriately, he has the foot speed and balance to recover, but he doesn’t have the displacement power to knock rushers off of their path or the length to re-leverage. Despite his great footwork, those weaknesses will leave him susceptible to rushes both through his chest and on his inside shoulder.

There’s little that Slater can do about this. He’s good—he’s so stinkin’ good—because of how technically proficient he is. But he’s unlikely to get longer, taller, or significantly stronger, so when he’s anything less than perfect in his reads or sets, he’s at a disadvantage. The margin for error is just so much smaller when you’re on an uphill climb against NFL athletes for 16 weeks.