The Cincinnati Bengals had an extremely difficult choice entering the 2021 NFL Draft. Their first option was to provide their 2020 #1 pick, quarterback Joe Burrow, with his top wide receiver at Louisiana State University. Their second option was to select one of the best offensive tackle prospects ever in order to protect him.
For months, this debate over whether the Bengals should draft WR Ja'marr Chase or OT Penei Sewell raged on. The choices were eventually laid out in an now infamous meme depicting Burrow either getting sack, unable to get the ball to Chase, or completing a reception to "Anybody" while being protected by Sewell.
The Bengals selected Chase with the fifth pick in the Draft. The Detroit Lions selected Sewell seventh, with the Miami Dolphins selecting WR Jaylen Waddle in between.
Sewell was the first draft pick in the Brad Holmes-Dan Campbell era. Their table-pounding reaction to Sewell falling to them went viral, and the speed at which they selected Sewell frustrated an NFL that enjoyed a drama-filled wait in between picks.
The Lions did not expect Sewell to fall to them. On The Pivot Podcast in early 2022, then-Dallas Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons claimed that the Lions were committed to drafting him if he was available. Sewell falling to the Lions led to an open pass rushing spot that the team filled in the following draft with Aidan Hutchinson.
Had the Lions passed on Hutchinson because they had Parsons, they might've instead taken an OT like Ekem Ekwonu or Evan Neal with one of their two first-round picks, assuming they didn't take an OT in 2021. This could've left them without WR Jameson Williams. The Lions would look much different than they do now.
Chase and Sewell are both on a Hall of Fame path
On Sunday, Chase and Sewell will face off, both having a strong case for being the top players at their position. Chase has been selected to the Pro Bowl in every season of his career and picked up a First-Team All-Pro selection after his historic triple crown season. Meanwhile, Sewell has three Pro Bowl and two First-Team All-Pro selections, and is currently one of the favorites for the first-ever Protector of the Year award winner.
Make no mistake, the Bengals didn't make a bad choice with the Chase pick. In his rookie season, Chase helped end the Bengals' lengthy playoff win drought en route to their third Super Bowl berth. But because life imitates art, the Bengals' final play in their loss to the Los Angeles Rams saw Burrow getting hit, unable to get the ball to a wide-open Chase. The Bengals might not have made the Super Bowl that season with Sewell, but he certainly would've helped mitigate a key mismatch in the game itself.
Right now, the Bengals are feeling the pain of Sewell's absence. Burrow is currently injured with a turf toe injury. This is the second time since the 2021 Draft that Burrow will miss an extended period of time. When he's healthy, Burrow plays at an MVP level, as evidenced by his league-leading yards and TDs last season, but fears are mounting that he could be heading toward an early retirement like Andrew Luck for health reasons.
The Bengals did select OT Jackson Carman in the second round of that 2021 Draft, but Carman is not currently on a team. The Bengals did have the opportunity to select center Creed Humphrey or trade up for C Landon Dickerson, but that's only with the benefit of hindsight, as the Bengals were likely seeking an OT above all else.
A franchise-altering draft for the Lions
The Lions ended up benefiting from both worlds. In the fourth round of that 2021 Draft, the Lions selected WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. St. Brown has blossomed into one of the league's best receivers himself, amassing three Pro Bowl and two First-Team All-Pro selections. St. Brown enters Sunday's game against the Bengals as the league-leader in touchdown receptions with six.
More layers were added to that evergreen pre-draft meme as the Lions began using Sewell in trick plays, including a pass play, which Sewell caught for a game-clinching first down against the Minnesota Vikings in 2022. A version of that meme was made depicting Burrow being protected by Sewell while also throwing a pass to Sewell.
The Bengals could've taken Sewell and St. Brown, and maybe won Super Bowl LVI. Yet, every team passed on St. Brown, as he would be the first to tell you. It's tough to blame the Bengals for not having the foresight to take St. Brown when even the Lions thought he was worth a fourth-round pick at the time.
Sewell and St. Brown have become important pieces of a Lions core, which has led the NFL in wins since the start of the 2022 season (39-16). In 2023, St. Brown caught a first-down catch to end the Lions' own three-decade-long playoff win drought en route to an NFC Championship appearance. All the while, Sewell has anchored one of the best OL units in the NFL.
The Lions and Bengals play on Sunday in very different positions. Lions are 3-1, and looking like a Super Bowl contender. The 2-2 Bengals are struggling without Burrow, poised to miss the playoffs for a third consecutive season. It's fascinating to think how differently each franchise would be had the Bengals taken Sewell, but the Lions are sure glad they didn't.
