Titans rookie DT T'Vondre Sweat is shattering pre-draft misconceptions

If the "rookie wall" is real, then Tennessee Titans rookie defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat has broken through it like the Kool-Aid man. That shouldn't be shocking, given that Sweat has been dominating offensive linemen all season long.

Sweat has been a home-run addition for the Titans. It's easy to say that now, 11 games into an impressive rookie season, but selecting him in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft was initially questionable. The Titans were still getting raked over the coals for taking Sweat instead of accepting a massive trade offer from the L.A. Rams for No. 38 overall.

It wasn't difficult to find Sweat-skeptics. The Titans had previously drafted oversized players with character concerns. It was unfortunately easy to place Sweat in the same bucket initially.

Sweat is oversized and he's already an extreme outlier because of his sheer size. The former Texas standout is listed at 366 pounds, and that's perhaps a player-friendly number. Even if Sweat's weight is accurate, only two defensive tackles weighing 360-plus pounds had started games in the NFL (Anthony Rush and Terrance Cody). Rush and Cody barely made an impact. Tennessee's rookie defensive tackle is already the most extreme outlier of outliers.

Despite the historical odds against him, Sweat has been fantastic for the Titans this campaign. One of the biggest questions was whether he would be able to sustain his snap count over a long season, but that hasn't been an issue, evidenced by him playing 80% of the snaps against the Houston Texans last Sunday, which tied a previous career high. Sweat has been a workhorse next for Jeffery Simmons for Dennard Wilson's defense.

That alone would be cause for fist pumps and high-fives from the Titans front office. Ran Carthon and Brian Callahan can take that a step further, because while other rookies are hitting the "rookie wall," Sweat is playing his best football.

Over the last two games, Sweat has recorded two tackles for loss (TFLs), which matches what he did in the previous nine games combined. Pro Football Focus also credited him with three pressures in each game which are more than he had in any of the previous nine games, and one of those pressures included his first NFL sack against his hometown Texans.

It was a gutsy move to draft Sweat. Carthon, President of Football Operations Chad Brinker, and Assistant GM Anthony Robinson deserve a ton of credit for sticking their necks out there and making that selection. Sweat is currently vindicating their faith in him.