NFL Draft Prospects 2019: Edge Rusher - Montez Sweat, Mississippi State

Montez Sweat was highly recruited by Michigan State as a tight-end originally, but after switching to the defensive side of the ball and appearing in a few games, he was suspended by the school for undisclosed reasons.

Following a year at junior college, Sweat took the offer of a different MSU and all he did in Starkville was earn first-team All-SEC honors for leading the conference with 10.5 sacks and recorded 15.5 tackles for loss in his first season. He put up almost identical numbers last year and once again was a first-team all-conference selection as well as a second-team All-American.

This is a very long and lanky D-end at 6’6”, 260 pounds with almost 36-inch arms. Sweat looks pretty lean, but he has much more power than you’d anticipate, which he uses to stand up offensive tackles and then has a feel for those guys overcommitting when they try to recover. His coaches at Ole Miss were very creative with him, involving him in twists and loops as well as lining him up at dime-linebacker originally and then bringing him down to the edge late.

Sweat has outstanding agility for his build to be able to break down and redirect once he reads the action in the backfield. I like the potential he has with his length to get around O-linemen quickly through backdoor runs. He will attack the opposite shoulder of pulling linemen and force the running back to bounce outside, where the MSU coaches trusted their safeties.

Sweat had the nation’s best run-stop percentage among all edge defenders last season and missed just two tackles all year, while also displaying tremendous pursuit all over the field to clean things up. With his length, he can also grab ball-carriers on their way by and clip them down by their heels.

What stands out most about Sweat as a pass-rusher is his speed with a strong first step and long strides, showcased by that record-setting 4.41 in the 40 at the combine. However, what really creates problems for tackles is how he can convert that explosiveness into power once he initiates contact.

Sweat’s long arms help him keep his chest clean and he can open up a path to the quarterback through the inside by getting up into the middle of the blocker, as well as being able to clear himself from that armbar with a rip-through. He utilizes push-pull moves to take advantage of blockers getting their heads over their toes and he flashes a swipe-by where he grabs the inside shoulder plate and pushes his tackle past him to open up a direct path to the QB.

Sweat has the ankle flexion to run the arc at an angle and he uses little head nods to the inside to keep his blocker off balance. He absolutely terrorized Auburn’s right tackle for the entire day in their 2018 upset win over the Tigers and stood out from the get-go at the Senior Bowl in pass-rush one-on-ones, highlighted by that monster stutter and bull rush against Alabama State’s Tytus Howard to wrap up the session. Due to that he quickly got some top 10 buzz around Senior Bowl media, as he pretty much dominated all week long with power, speed and quickness, while showing off his tremendous natural ability.

The former Bulldog D-end dips his shoulder into contact against angle blocks and gives up contain a few times. Flexibility and bend are a bit of concern and for as impressive as this pre draft process has been for this kid, he hasn’t really answered any of my questions, since I already knew he was fast and powerful.

Sweat is a high-hipped player, who struggles to turn tight corners and you rarely see him bend through contact to get to the quarterback. He also has to work on recognizing when tackles overset on him and he can advantage of that with quick inside counters. Plenty of Sweat’s sack came against scrambling quarterbacks and he had the luxury of playing alongside a defensive line with Jeffery Simmons, who was given a lot of attention on the inside.

Sweat is not nearly as explosive from a two-point stance and would be better suited to play defensive end in a four-man front. With the way he seems to not be able to run a tight arc, it will be imperative for him to mix up his moves and take advantage of inside paths to the quarterback that are being opened up.

Sweat is a strong run defender, highly improved pass rusher and flying missile when it comes to chasing after people. He is not as natural as some other guys at getting after the passer, but with all the hype surrounding him, I don’t see him slip into the bottom half of round one.

Grade: Late first