How Paul Is Looking to Take the Next Step ... With Some Help From Penei Sewell
The Miami Dolphins have the potential to field their most talented offensive line in a few years after the selection of Kadyn Proctor in the first round of the 2026 NFL, and one of the key pieces will be left tackle Patrick Paul.
The 2025 second-round selection is coming off his first season as a starter and he played well enough to feel optimistic that was just the beginning of something bigger and better for the big man from the University of Houston.
But Paul knows there's room for growth in his game, as he admitted during a media session following an OTA this week.
Paul indicated that he likes to watch other tackles around the NFL during the offseason to pick up technique points and when pressed to name one in particular he likes to study, he mentioned a good one, three-time first-team All-Pro Penei Sewell - the Detroit Lions star the Dolphins should have taken with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 draft (but that's a different story).
"The way he sets, if you watch his tape, it's teach tape every time," Paul said. "It's like the same set each time and his hands are always accurate. It's awesome."
Paul then talked about wanting to have better hands.
Ironically, word out of Detroit is that Sewell will be moving from right tackle to left tackle next season, which will make studying him an even more apples-to-apples comparison for Paul.
PAUL HEADING INTO BIG YEAR
Paul is heading into an important season because he'll become eligible for a contract extension next offseason and he could play himself into some big money if he can build on his 2025 performance given the value of left tackles in the NFL.
Not surprisingly, Paul said he was very happy to see teammate De'Von Achane get his own contract extension a few days ago and it's definitely worth noting that the two players have the same agent, Leah Knight.
While Paul certainly did a commendable job last season and played his part in Achane rushing for more than 1,300 yards, there still was room for improvement.
Pro Football Focus ranked him 43rd among the 84 tackles it graded for the 2025 season, so basically middle of the pack.
"A lot of it is kind of just the consistency, pass rush," Paul said. "But I'm very hard on myself, so asking me what I did good, I wouldn't be able to tell you. But we're just gonna keep on improving and just stacking. That's what we're doing. Consistency is the main thing. That's our focus always."
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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 11:00 AM.