2. Noah Sewell was much better in 2021 than 2022
One big reason why the Chicago Bears likely view Noah Sewell as a linebacker and not a defensive end is that while he is small for a defensive end right now, scouts say that Sewell put on weight in 2022 and play a worse, slower style of football. Most think that the best path for Sewell is actually to lose a little bit of a weight and get back to his 2021 tape.
In 2021 Sewell had 114 total tackles, and that dropped to 45 the following season. He played a lot fewer snaps last season, but his run-stop rate also dropped from 6.6% to 5.3%. According to PFF, his run defense grade also dropped from 69.3 to 62.4.
Fans that are screaming for him to put on a few more pounds and rush the passer should see that he had 34 pressures on 98 pass rush snaps in 2021 and he had 18 pressures on 94 snaps in 2022. Putting on weight will only make him slower around the edge, and he is a blitzer, not a rusher who will beat tackles. He has to lose weight and get quicker to get back to his 2021 ways of rushing the passer.
Beyond that, his passer rating allowed went from 75 to 105.6. To be fair, that is mainly due to touchdowns allowed, and his yards per snap played in coverage actually dropped last year. His coverage grade improved in 2022 as well. Lastly, he saw his missed tackle rate drop from 17.9% to 12.5%, so he did see improvement in some areas.
The reality is that he was a smarter and more technically mature player, but he also was slower physically. Can the Chicago Bears get him to the right weight to make the most of his skill set?