Bengals won’t regret passing on Penei Sewell no matter what happens in Week 6
Following the 2021 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals received a lot of criticism for passing on Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell with the fifth overall pick. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Bengals would go with Sewell at that No. 5 spot but they stunned everyone by selecting Ja’Marr Chase instead.
After a shaky preseason from Chase, he’s rebounded in a massive way, proving that it wasn’t a mistake taking him with that fifth pick.
Sewell also had a shaky preseason and has had an up and down start to his pro career. He got pushed around by Everson Griffen last week, prompting the whispers of “bust” to commence in the Motor City.
The Bengals aren’t regretting passing on him by this point, as Chase is the frontrunner for Offensive Rookie of the Year and the offensive line hasn’t been the Achilles Heel of the team.
Still, this weekend will present the first time the Bengals will get to directly see what they passed on.
The Bengals face Penei Sewell this weekend after passing on him in the draft.
As mentioned, we can drop the whole ‘Bengals should have taken Sewell over Chase’ banter at this point. Chase has been electric and picking right back up from where he left off with Joe Burrow at LSU in the 2019 season. He’s been the brightest spot of this team through five games.
Had the Bengals taken Sewell, they’d have had some major growing pains along their o-line. He’s definitely struggled but Fayez AliAhmad of SideLion Report gave a good outlook at Sewell’s career to this point. AliAhmad provided examples of former offensive linemen who disappointed at first but transformed into solid players at their respective positions.
Maybe Sewell struggles this weekend against Trey Hendrickson and that Bengals pass rush. This would hopefully put an end to the debate that people outside of Cincinnati have carried on.
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Even if he plays well, however, the Bengals can sleep easy knowing they added a game-changing wide receiver like Chase who could go on to win Rookie of the Year.