Allen Park: The Detroit Lions, who won the NFC North title (great ring to that, does not it?) are gaining traction throughout the league after qualifying five players for the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive year, a feat they had not accomplished since 1990–91.
Pro Bowl invitations were awarded to Detroit for edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, tight end Sam LaPorta, center Frank Ragnow, right tackle Penei Sewell, and special teams standout Jalen Reeves-Maybin. It was unexpected that receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who tied Tyreek Hill for second place in receptions and fifth in yards, was left off the roster despite being a first alternate. Other first alternates included running back Jahmyr Gibbs, quarterback Jared Goff (second alternate), guard Jonah Jackson (third), running back David Montgomery (fourth), punt returner Kalif Raymond (fourth), and linebacker Alex Anzalone (fifth).
After playing through an inoperable toe injury the entire season and playing in Chicago just one week after undergoing meniscus surgery, Ragnow has now been voted to back-to-back Pro Bowls and three overall, becoming just the third Lions center to accomplish that feat, joining Kevin Glover (1995–97) and Ed Flanagan (1969–71, 1973). Ragnow has allowed just one sack and 10 pressures.
“Frank is going to will himself. His mind controls his body, which we talk about all the time, and the good ones can do that. He is what you already know. He is a tough dude. Mind over matter. Ultimately, that is what it is about for him; call it what you want, but he is terrified of letting his teammates down. That means more to him than anything. It is just the way he is. And that is why guys respect the hell out of him,” head coach Dan Campbell said.
From their renowned offensive line, the Lions sent two players to the Pro Bowl. Sewell was selected for the second time in a row this season, making him the youngest player in Lions history to do so. He has allowed just one sack on 640 pass blocks, an incredible accomplishment, and is ranked as the league’s top pass blocker among all offensive tackles by Pro Football Focus, which also ranks him as the team’s best player overall at the position.
More impressively, Sewell has performed at his peak when facing the best players. Against Montez Sweat, Maxx Crosby, Danielle Hunter, and Micah Parsons, he gave up just one pressure on 34 pass blocks, one pressure on 21 pass blocks, and two pressures on 19 pass blocks.
Those are some of the league’s elite pass rushers, and Sewell allowed no sacks on 94 snaps against them.
“Pretty good,” Sewell said sheepishly after practice on Wednesday. “I just go out there and play the game that I love, not even thinking about all that Pro Bowl stuff. All that matters at the end of the day is that I give my all to my brothers, the coaches, and this organization.”
LaPorta, the rookie tight end who has completely rewritten the Lions record book, may be the most impressive selection for the Pro Bowl of all time. He has 81 receptions for 860 yards and nine touchdowns, all team records for a first-year player at the position. His 81 receptions match the NFL rookie tight end record, and he is only one touchdown shy of breaking the all-time record (12).
He’s the first Lions rookie tight end to earn a Pro Bowl nod since Hall-of-Famer Charlie Sanders in 1968.
“We keep trying to find out things that he can’t do, and we’re still scratching our heads there,” offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said last month. “We like to line him up all over the place. He’s doing a phenomenal job picking up the details and the nuances of alignment splits and responsibilities, and that’s what allows us to push the envelope a little bit. But no, it’s really impressive for a rookie. It doesn’t matter what position, but particularly that one, which is even more challenging in a lot of ways between the run game and the pass game.”
Hutchinson, who was passed over for a Pro Bowl selection during his 9.5-sack rookie season the previous year, has added another 9.5 sacks going into this year’s finale (three of which came in the weekend’s loss against Dallas) and has racked up 93 quarterback pressures overall, third in the league only to Micah Parsons (102) and Nick Bosa (94). He has accomplished this while consistently drawing double teams.
Here’s betting the Lions are awfully glad Jacksonville passed on him at the top of last year’s draft.
“He’s relentless,” Campbell said. “He gives everything he’s got to win the rep every time.”
Reeves-Maybin completes the group of Pro Bowl players in Detroit. He is in his second tour with the team and was brought back for his outstanding play on special teams. After spending a season in Houston, he returned to the Lions last offseason and has since established himself as one of the best in the league, recording a league-high 13 tackles. In addition, he performed admirably when forced into linebacker duty due to injuries sustained in New Orleans, hitting the quarterback twice and sacking him once while also stopping a third-down pass.
“When he left (in free agency last year), we thought he was a great player and disappointed to see him go or whatever, but that’s a part of the business,” special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said. “And then obviously, when we had a chance to get him back, it was incredible. He’s a great leader. His way of leading is a lot more by example than being vocal. However, he has been vocal, and that’s also helped the guys. And he’s done a little bit more of that this year. He’s obviously a captain for us, but he’s a great player. I mean, for him to go out and make the plays that he made in that game (against New Orleans) was obviously special. And the one thing that I said was that I just talked to Dan (Campbell) about it, but the one thing that happens to these guys is that when you’re a good player, you get a lot of attention. They put good players on you, and sometimes they put two guys on you. If they don’t put two guys on you, they put their best guy on you. And so for him to go out and do that against a good football team that has a bunch of good players on their side of the ball and a well-coached group that has a good plan, it obviously says a lot about him.”
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