DETROIT -- One week into training camp, Detroit Lions All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell surveyed the practice field after a particularly tough session, and he noticed a number of changes.
As his two-and-a-half-year-old son, Malakai, sat on his neck, Sewell, 24, briefly reflected on his personal journey as a man off the field, but also as a player on the field entering his fifth NFL season.
He's no longer that wide-eyed rookie who arrived in Detroit as the seventh overall pick in 2021. Sewell has emerged as a full-blown leader for a Lions team that is viewed as a serious Super Bowl contender.