In April, the Tennessee Titans used their 2nd round pick on Texas DT T'Vondre Sweat.
He was one of the most talented "red flag" prospects in the class. The college production was off the charts, but he had on- and off-field concerns, according to many draft analysts. He couldn't keep his weight in check. Conditioning was likely to be an issue. His size arguably prevented him from being a true three-down player who could effectively rush the passer. He was a goofball whose immaturity was a regular issue. He was a potential liability away from the football field, as proven by a horribly-timed DUI just weeks before the draft.
This guy was a draft mistake waiting to happen in the eyes of most teams, analysts, and fans. Titans fans themselves spend the days and weeks leading up to the draft openly campaigning against Ran Carthon selecting Sweat, especially not in the 2nd round.
The Titans took him there anyways. And just 3 months into his rookie season, T'Vondre Sweat is proving the Titans as right as they possibly could have been for taking a chance on him.
Sweat has been everything the pre-draft narrative said he couldn't be. He's been a stalwart pro off the football field, handling his business the way it needs to be handled. His work ethic has been consistently relentless according to his coaches and teammates. That hard work has shown itself with progress on Sundays, as Sweat has only improved as an interior technician throughout the season.
Amongst a very talented rookie DT class, he's ranked 1st in PFF defensive score and total tackles (21). He's clearly the best run defender of his class. He's got the 2nd most pressures of the group (13), an impressive feat for a guy too big and slow to rush the passer! And after getting so close many times, he recorded his first NFL sack in his hometown of Houston in Week 12.
And perhaps biggest of all his stats, he leads all rookie defensive tackles in total snaps played with 454. His weight and conditioning haven't been even close to a problem all year long.
Naturally, Titans decision makers are extremely pleased with how their gamble has panned out. But when you ask them about how he's debunked the red flags attached to him, they'll respectfully push back on that idea.
"Yeah, I think it's less of debunking and more of confirming for us" Head Coach Brian Callahan explained. "We felt really good about the person. We felt really good about the background. We did our homework on him. He was vetted very, very, very thoroughly. And we came away with a player—and a person—that we really liked and thought he had all the right make-up. Some unfortunate circumstances might have led others to believe differently, but he's been everything that I thought he would be when we drafted him. And I think if you asked Ran (Carthon), he'd feel the same way. He's a phenomenal person. He's a great personality. He plays hard. All the things that were sort of red-flagged in him during the draft process were not things that we were as concerned about. "I think it's pretty awesome that he's confirmed for us that everything we believed in he's given us and shown us and that's really cool."
It's not like Sweat has just recently put these concerns to bed. Since the moment he arrived in Tennessee, he's been a man on a mission to be the best pro he can be. And the Titans didn't take a chance on him recklessly. This wasn't a shot in the dark or willful blindness towards potential issues. This was a calculated, researched move on the part of the Titans front office. A process that showed them something about T'Vondre that so many others didn't see.
"And on top of that, we did a really good job, I think, organizationally in putting the structure around him that allowed him to succeed." Callahan explained. "We worked really hard to make sure from conditioning with Zac (Woodfin) and the performance staff to Lauren (Silvio) and the nutrition. All of those things were all put in place for him. There was a structure in place for him to be successful, and he's taken advantage of it. I think he's been everything I hoped he would be from a personality standpoint, as a person and as a player."
A big part of that healthy structure is Sweat's running mate, star DT Jeffery Simmons. All along, big number 98 has been involved in the shepherding of his young teammate.
"I think that's what makes the situation even more unique, is that Jeff (Simmons) has been looking for a guy like (T'Vondre) Sweat to play with. He's wanted that kind of running mate inside, and a guy that he knows is going to be able to take up double teams and make his job easier. But Jeff's a fantastic leader in that room on top of it. He wouldn't let—it's like if you're going to play next to Jeff, there's an expectation and a standard and he wasn't going to let Sweat fall below that. I think you're seeing the benefits of having a guy like Jeff next to him and the impact he's had on him as a veteran player to a young player. That's what we hoped for."
Everything has come up Titans on the T'Vondre Sweat gamble. He's been an immediate impact player, and Tennessee's defense is reaping the rewards of their unwavering faith.
