Penei Sewell, Trent Williams, Wirfs Lead Top 10 NFL OT Rankings by Coaches, Execs in New Poll

A first-team All-Pro selection in each of the last three years, Detroit Lions star Penei Sewell is the standard for offensive tackles based on a ranking of NFL coaches, scouts and executives.

In a survey conducted by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Sewell was voted as the top offensive tackle in the league entering the 2026 season ahead of Trent Williams and Tristan Wirfs.

Here is the full top 10 list from Fowler's survey:

1. Penei Sewell, Detroit Lions
2. Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers
3. Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4. Jordan Mailata, Philadelphia Eagles
5. Laremy Tunsil, Washington Commanders
6. Darnell Wright, Chicago Bears
7. Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles
8. Andrew Thomas, New York Giants
9. Joe Alt, Los Angeles Chargers
10. Garrett Bolles, Denver Broncos

This marks the first time that Sewell has topped the ranking, though Fowler noted no one individual player dominated in the voting.

One executive who had high praise for Sewell described him as playing with "f--k you" attitude.

There were some Sewell detractors, as one NFL coordinator told Fowler that his short arms do make him susceptible in pass protection against the top-level EDGE players.

"He's got short arms, and he doesn't win a lot in pass protection against real guys, just like everyone else," the coordinator said. "But they pretend like he doesn't [struggle]."

Run blocking is Sewell's main calling card. He had the best run-blocking grade (96.7) among all tackles last season, per PFF.com.

Heading into his 16th season, Williams is still regarded as a dominant force based on being voted as the second-best offensive tackle in the NFL right now.

One NFC defensive coach told Fowler they haven't seen any real decline in Williams' play going into his age-38 season.

"I don't see a lot of drop-off — he still operates without the need for any help in pass protection, he still mauls people, he's still got light feet for his size, still has the capacity to dominate," the coach said.

The 49ers star has made the All-Pro team in four of the last five seasons.

Wirfs dropped two spots from the 2025 list primarily because injuries kept him out for five games last season, but there are not a lot of concerns about him going forward.

"He makes the very difficult look extremely easy," an NFC exec said to Fowler. "There's probably another level he can still get to. Still so much untapped potential."

If there is a player in the back half of the top 10 who could make a leap up to the first or second spot next year, Joe Alt of the Los Angeles Chargers stands out. He managed to make the Pro Bowl last season despite playing just six games due to an ankle injury.

Alt's 95 percent pass-block win rate as a rookie in 2024 ranked fifth among all tackles.

There was a wide variety of opinions within the vote. Each of the top five players received at least one first-place vote. Darnell Wright, Lane Johnson and Garrett Bolles were all voted second on at least one ballot.

Sewell, Wirfs and Jordan Mailata were the only players listed on every ballot.