Noah Sewell, LB Oregon: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Sewell was a five-star recruit from Orem High School in Orem, Utah in the class of 2020

Oregon linebacker Noah Sewell began receiving first round buzz as a freshman and sophomore. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely the former All-Pac-12 selection won’t hear his name called in the top 100 selections of the 2023 NFL Draft.

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Noah Sewell, LB Oregon: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Junior linebacker from Malaeimi, American Samoa

Background: Sewell was a five-star recruit from Orem High School in Orem, Utah in the class of 2020. He attended Desert Hills High School for two years before moving to Orem. Sewell was the No. 13 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 10 for Rivals, and No. 20 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 27th in the nation (four-star) with an 86 grade out of 100. He amassed a laundry list of awards in high school. Sewell was a USA Today First-Team All-USA Defense and a First-Team MaxPreps High School Football All-American Team selection in 2019. He was named the 2019 Utah Valley Football Player of the Year and earned the title “Mr. Football” for Utah from The Deseret News. Sewell was selected for the 2020 All-American Bowl and 2020 Polynesian Bowl. He finished his high school career with 224 tackles, including 29 tackles for loss with 8.5 sacks, five interceptions, and five forced fumbles. Sewell also rushed for 2,316 yards and 40 touchdowns on 263 carries. He led Orem to the Utah 5A State Championship as a senior. That year, he amassed 103 tackles, including 12 tackles for loss and four sacks, and two interceptions. He also carried the ball 86 times for 766 yards and 14 touchdowns. As a junior, Sewell totaled 103 tackles, including 16 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He carried the ball 52 times for 694 yards and 15 touchdowns while snagging 20 receptions for 229 yards and three scores. Sewell played quarterback as a sophomore at Desert Hills, rushing for 848 yards and passing for 634. He has three older brothers who played football in college. The oldest, Gabriel, was a linebacker at Nevada from 2015-2019. The second oldest, Nephi, played defensive back at Nevada from 2017-18 before walking on at Utah and playing linebacker for the Utes from 2019-2021. He was an undrafted free agent who saw action in several games for the New Orleans Saints in 2022. The third brother, Penei, played tackle at Oregon from 2018-2019 and won the 2019 Outland Trophy. He opted out of the COVID season in 2020 and was taken seventh overall in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. Penei made the Pro Bowl for the 2022 season. All four brothers were born in American Samoa.

Injuries & Off-Field: Carted off the field with a leg injury against UCLA (2020), suffered an injury against Oregon State (2021)

Awards: 2020 Honorable Mention All-Pac-12, 2020 Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year, 2020 Freshman All-American (FWAA, The Athletic), 2021 First-Team All-Pac-12, 2022 Second-Team All-Pac-12

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, punt return, and field goal block units, experience taking snaps as a 5-tech pass rusher, age, thick throughout frame, motor runs hot, plays through and after the whistle, frequently communicating with fellow defenders pre-snap and celebrating with them after the play, quick and active feet, good speed for a linebacker his size, closing burst, intriguing raw power, clear upper body and hand strength, power to challenge and disrupt climbing linemen, stacks blocks and reroutes ball carrier, upper body strength to shed blocks, separates from blocks and redirects to the ball, power to overwhelm blocking tight ends, disrupts run plays at a high level, lateral flow to stop outside runs, good stance at linebacker to avoid false steps, gets his hands up to disrupt passing lanes, quick to close on short throws, rarely penalized

Cons: Not in the mold of modern linebackers, arm length, limited tackle radius, not a twitchy athlete, change of direction skills are average at best, hip stiffness, bit of a short-strider, not quite sideline-to-sideline range but close, fast backs beat him to the edge and around the corner, runs himself out of plays, sucked downhill by play action, play recognition, more of a see-ball get-ball linebacker than an anticipator, frequently fits the wrong gap, stops his feet at the tackle attempt and lunges, lacks desired arm length for a 3-4 outside linebacker, lacks a developed pass rush plan, primarily relies on underwhelming bull rush as a pass rusher, lacks bend in his lower half, most of his coverage experience is in shallow drops or carrying RBs to the flat, will struggle to mirror tight ends in man coverage, limited area of influence in zone, generally looks out of place and uncomfortable away from the box

Overview: Sewell took official measurements at the NFL Combine. He’s 6015 and weighs 246 lbs. He has 10-inch hands, 31 5/8-inch arms, and a 76 3/8-inch wingspan. Sewell brings a variety of experiences to the NFL. He played on the kick return, punt return, and field goal block units at Oregon while also taking some snaps as a pass rushing 5-tech. He’s a young prospect but a throwback linebacker with a thick, muscular build and terrific play strength. His raw power is on display when he engages blockers. Sewell’s upper body and hand strength disrupt climbing linemen. He stacks blocks, frequently disrupting the design of run plays. Sewell stacks and shed blocks at a high level compared to the other linebackers in this year’s draft. When not engaged by a climbing blocker, Sewell has the lateral flow to stop outside runs. His quick and active feet, linear speed, and closing burst grant him the range to get ahead of outside runs. He doesn’t quite have sideline-to-sideline range and is occasionally beat around the edge by speedsters, but that’s understandable considering his size. Hip stiffness and short strides also restrict his range. However, Sewell’s motor runs hot, and he deploys from a good stance to avoid false steps. The former five-star recruit plays through and after the whistle. He frequently communicates with his teammates pre-snap and celebrates with them after the play. Sewell gets his hands in passing lanes, especially when rushing the passer, and is quick to close on short throws. Unfortunately, he’s not in the mold of a modern linebacker. Sewell has short arms and a limited tackle radius. He’s not a twitchy athlete, and his change of direction skills are average at best. The junior is sucked downhill by play action and runs himself out of plays. He’s a see-ball, get-ball linebacker with below-average anticipation and play recognition. Sewell stops his feet when he goes for tackles, which leads to bad misses. His run fits are hit-or-miss. He lacks the arm length to play on the edge full-time and doesn’t have a developed pass rush plan. Sewell mostly relies on his modest bull rush and doesn’t have much bend. Most of his coverage experience is in shallow drops or carrying running backs to the flat. He has a limited area of influence in zone and looks very uncomfortable deeper than seven or eight yards off the line of scrimmage. He lacks the athletic profile to play man coverage against tight ends and quality receiving backs. 

Overall, Sewell is a powerful, athletic linebacker who is at his best close to the line of scrimmage. He offers limited upside in coverage and hasn’t developed the instincts to anticipate plays. Sewell is an above-average athlete who makes splash plays in the run game as a see-ball, get-ball linebacker, but his style isn’t in favor in the modern NFL. He projects as a role-specific player at the next level.

Role & Scheme Fit: Early down inside linebacker in a 4-3 or 3-4 scheme

Round Projection: Fourth Round

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 04-08-23