Titans Had Strong Value on DT Pick

The Tennessee Titans knew they were taking a risk about a year ago when they selected Texas defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat with the number 38 overall pick.

Sweat was one of the heaviest players in the draft and he was dealing with some trouble with the law leading up to his entry in the league.

Those red flags proved to be non-issues in his rookie season as Sweat emerged into one of the better defensive first-year players in the league. That's why The Athletic's Nick Baumgardner had Sweat labeled as a first-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals at number 27 in his 2024 redraft exercise.

"Despite toiling on a bad team, Sweat was quietly one of the best rookie defenders in the NFL last season — a true interior force against the run who also wound up with 23 pressures and a pair of sacks. The 6-foot-4, 360-pounder was terrific value for the Titans at No. 38," Baumgardner writes.

Instead of taking Sweat, the Cardinals settled for Missouri defensive lineman Darius Robinson, who suffered a calf injury during the training camp and was placed on injured reserve. He was activated in the middle of the season, but managed to only make six appearances for the team while recording 10 tackles.

Sweat would have been a far better choice for the Cardinals in that spot. The Titans rookie recorded 51 tackles and a fumble recovery while playing in all 17 games for Tennessee in his first NFL season. He made 16 starts and was a force next to Jeffery Robinson on the interior defensive line.

Sweat hopes to continue building off of his rookie year for the Titans as he approaches his second season, where the team will count on him to be part of their rebuild.