Tennessee Titans DT T’Vondre Sweat was recently showered with praise in the national media
Tennessee Titans defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat enjoyed a quality rookie campaign in 2024. A polarizing selection by former general manager Ran Carthon in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Sweat swiftly quieted his pre-draft critics. The former Texas Longhorns standout recorded 51 tackles and one sack.
There are areas of Sweat’s game that require improvement in 2025. Limited pass-rush potential was a common negative in Sweat’s scouting report. Only recording one sack as a rookie strongly indicates there’s untapped production to explore on pass-rushing downs.
Sweat proved a lot of naysayers wrong, however. Stamina was a pre-draft question. Sweat showed up in fantastic shape, playing a sizable 699 snaps as a rookie, accounting for 66.13% of Tennessee’s defensive plays throughout the 2024 campaign.
Analytics and advanced stats appreciated Sweat’s rookie season even more than the statistics indicate. Pro Football Focus were huge champions of his. PFF awarded Sweat with an overall grade of 76.1, making him their 13th-highest graded interior defensive lineman (minimum snap count).
PFF recently revealed their “Top 25 players under 25” list. Sweat did not qualify for that honor, understandably sp. But as a follow-up, PFF announced 10 players who just missed out. Sweat makes an appearance.
“Tennessee’s 362-pound interior defender made an immediate impact as a rookie in 2024,” Zoltán Buday wrote. “Sweat earned a 76.1 overall PFF grade, ranking 14th among 118 qualifying interior defenders, while forming one of the league’s top interior trios alongside Jeffery Simmons and Sebastian Joseph-Day. The Texas product stood out even more against the run, posting a 75.0 run-defense grade, eighth best at the position. Sweat also earned a negative grade on just 11.5% of run plays, the eighth-lowest rate among all interior defenders, showcasing his consistency and reliability in the trenches.”
Defensive tackle is the best position on the Titans’ roster heading into 2025. Sweat should continue pairing with Jeffery Simmons and Sebastian Joseph-Day to form an effective interior trio. Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson will build his defense around their game-wrecking abilities.
Carthon made a lot of mistakes last offseason. He overspent in free agency, leading to disastrous results. Carthon’s tenure in Tennessee was short and largely unmemorable, but his decision to go against the grain and draft Sweat at No. 38 overall could prove to pay massive dividends as new GM Mike Borgonzi continues trying to rebuild the roster with similar like-minded talents.