Scouting New York Jets defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat

Last week, the Jets agreed to trade defensive end Jermaine Johnson to the Tennessee Titans for defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat. Today, we break down Sweat in detail.

The 24-year old Sweat is listed at 6’4″ and 366 pounds and was a second round pick out of Texas. He was named to the all-rookie team in 2024 and has started 28 games in his first two seasons, registering 85 tackles and three sacks.

Background

Sweat was a three-star high school recruit and headed to Texas in 2019. He was a backup during his first three seasons, in which he racked up a total of 53 tackles, six passes defensed and three sacks.

In 2022, he started the first nine games of his career and racked up 30 tackles and four passes defensed to earn an all-Big 12 honorable mention.

Ahead of the 2023 season, Sweat announced he would be returning for a fifth year and ended up starting every game and earning all-Big 12 first team and all-American honors. He ended the season with 45 tackles, four passes defensed and two sacks.

Some analysts felt he could be a first round pick but some legal issues before the draft contributed to him falling to day two where he was selected by the Titans with the 38th overall pick.

Sweat played in all 17 games as a rookie, starting all but one. He ended up with 51 tackles and a sack and was named to the all-rookie team. 2025 saw him miss five early season games due to injury but he ended the year with 34 tackles and two sacks in 12 games.

The trade to the Jets was announced last week with Sweat still having two years left on his rookie deal.

Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Sweat brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.

Measurables/Athleticism

Sweat is enormous, having gained over 100 pounds since he was in high school. While he is still listed at his combine weight of 366 pounds, he previously said he could be a hall-of-famer if he could get his weight down into the 350-355 range. He also has good length.

At the combine, he ran a phenomenal 5.27 for his size, with a 26-inch vertical and 98-inch broad jump. He didn’t do the agility drills or bench press, but his strength is apparent from his game film.

Usage

Sweat has been characterized as a natural nose tackle and the Titans did regularly operate with three down linemen. However, their system was more of a hybrid scheme and he has actually always played most of his reps lined up across from a guard or in the A-gap, rather than shading or over the center.

From time to time, Sweat, who was initially a strongside defensive end during his high school career, has lined up wider but only really as a change-up.

He’s also seen action on offense in short yardage situations, at one stage catching a two-yard touchdown pass in college.

Motor

While some characterizations of Sweat suggest he is lazy, this seems to be more of an off-field critique because he battles hard in the trenches. Considering his size, Sweat can cover a lot of ground and displays hustle in pursuit.

He never played 500 snaps in a season in college, but played 699 in his rookie season as he showed he can handle a starter’s workload by playing over 50 snaps three times. His snap percentages were lower last season, though, perhaps affected by his injury.

Pass rush

Sweat has never had more than two sacks in a season at the NFL or collegiate level, and his pressure rates are nothing special.

However, he’s not a total non-factor as a pass rusher, as his pressure rate was markedly higher last season than in his rookie year. He has had four pressures in an NFL game a couple of times as he shows the ability to get past his man.

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Perhaps more importantly, when single blocked he can routinely walk his man back so the quarterback doesn’t have much room to step up, which typically means the center helps out and ensures everyone else gets a one-on-one. In that way, he contributes without generating statistics himself.

Run defense

It’s run defense where Sweat excels, though. In 2023, he had the fourth best run blocking grade according to analysis site Pro Football Focus with none of the three players ahead of him playing in a power five conference and only one of them being a defensive lineman.

At the NFL level, Sweat was ranked by the same site in 9th place for run defense among interior defensive linemen in 2024 and 4th in 2025. This was also reflected in the Titans’ run splits which were significantly worse when he wasn’t in the game.

Sweat’s best attribute is that he’s so difficult to move. This allows him to bottle up runs and is particularly useful in short-yardage situations. He can also shed blocks routinely.

However, it’s also his quickness when penetrating that enables him to shoot gaps or make his man whiff at the point of attack so he can blow up runs. He had 17.5 tackles for loss in college and has five at the NFL level.

As noted, Sweat is effective in short yardage situations, showing explosiveness off the ball that contradicts pre-draft scouting reports questioning his get-off.

Technique

Sweat showcases the rare ability to hold his ground against or disrupt double-team blocks, as he has an impressive anchor and uses good pad level, leverage and hand placement to supplement his upper body strength.

While not a seasoned pass rusher, there is some evidence that Sweat can string together pass rush moves to get past his man cleanly. He is violent with his hands and has the ability to transition smoothly into a rip or arm-over move to get past his blocker.

Perhaps his most impressive pass rush weapon is his club move, though, which he used to good effect against veteran Shaq Mason here.

Special teams

Sweat’s only special teams role in college and at the NFL level has been rushing kicks. He did have a blocked kick that was returned for a score in a close game in college, though.

Tackling

Sweat’s production as a tackler increased throughout his college career and has actually been higher at the NFL level, albeit that he has played significantly more snaps.

Missed tackles have never been a major issue as he hasn’t had more than five in a season at any level. His length and strength makes it difficult for any ball carriers to escape his clutches but quarterbacks have eluded him in the pocket at times and he can be susceptible to cutbacks.

He has forced one fumble at the NFL level having also forced one at Texas.

Coverage

Sweat basically never dropped into coverage in college, but was asked to do it from time to time as a rookie and could have had an interception on this play:

One way he does contribute is by getting his hands up to deflect passes. He had 14 such plays in his college career and has added one so far at the NFL level.

As demonstrated above, he will show hustle on screen passes to try to get to the receiver.

Instincts/Intelligence

Sweat has a good football IQ as he is described as a student of the game who can diagnose blocking schemes. He shows good awareness and recognition on this play.

In Tennessee, he played more of an attacking role and didn’t do a lot of two-gapping where he would be required to take on a block then read and react. He did do this sometimes though, and is clearly capable of it.

Attitude/Demeanor

Sweat was characterized as a polarizing figure with maturity issues in college, but he brings energy and developed into a vocal leader. However, he hurt his reputation when he was arrested under suspicion of driving while intoxicated just weeks before the 2024 draft and he has always had a reputation as a “party boy” with weight issues.

At the NFL level, reports indicate that he had a “rough reputation” with the Titans and that general manager Mike Borgonzi was keen to move him for culture reasons. One Titans insider went further, saying that some considered Sweat to be “fat and lazy”.

Injuries

Sweat was durable in college, as he was able to suit up for 62 games in five years. However, he suffered an ankle injury in the first game of last season, then re-injured it two weeks later ahead of his expected return. In all, he missed five games with the injury.

He also missed time in training camp last year but that was because he had a tonsillectomy.

Scheme Fit

It is useful to note Robert Saleh’s comments just days before the trade was made. Rather than say that Sweat was not a fit for their system, he said that Sweat could handle it but would be asked to do some additional things in terms of moving laterally, which Saleh believed he was capable of. He even compared him to Al Woods, who Saleh acquired to fit into his system while with the Jets, albeit that Woods was more of a role player than a starter before getting hurt.

The easy narrative here is that the Titans are switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 and the Jets are switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 so swapping Sweat for Johnson makes sense for both teams from a fit perspective.

However, the Titans operated more of a hybrid system with outgoing defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson having been mentored by Todd Bowles and Gregg Williams and, as noted, Sweat hardly ever played as a pure nose within that system.

Furthermore, the Jets converting to a 3-4 system seems unlikely too. They did line up in a 3-4 on rare occasions last year, primarily when they were struggling to stop the run against certain teams, and did the same down the stretch with Jeff Ulbrich in the previous season. The chances of it becoming their primary base, unless it’s another hybrid where one of the outside linebackers would essentially operate as an edge rusher all the time anyway, seem remote.

While Sweat is one of the few NFL players capable of lining up at nose and, if required, playing a two-gapping role, his acquisition alone doesn’t necessarily signify a total system overhaul even though other big defensive tackles like Mazi Smith and Harrison Phillips were also added last year because an injury to Sweat would just mean the interior rotation was the same as at the end of last year.

As a defensive coordinator, Aaron Glenn used a 4-3 system in Detroit, with current defensive coordinator Brian Duker coaching under him. Although Duker was a secondary coach in Miami last year, as they operated a hybrid scheme that often employed odd-man fronts, it seems more logical for Glenn and Duker to return to a system similar to the one they’ve worked in together.

Ultimately, Sweat may or may not play more nose tackle, but his success in Tennessee when not often in that role bodes well for his ability to contribute however the Jets operate in 2026.

Sweat was a teammate of current Jets players Jarvis Brownlee, Ochaun Mathis and Sam Womack while in Tennessee and Adonai Mitchell while with the Longhorns.

Conclusions

Sweat has talent and a rare set of skills that will benefit the Jets against the run, particularly in short yardage, and could continue to develop in terms of his contributions to the pass rush.

The character concerns are troubling, although they sound similar to what was said about Brownlee when the Jets acquired him from the same team in the middle of last year. Brownlee was a good fit and immediately made positive contributions, so hopefully Sweat can have a similar impact playing for Glenn.

The move has saved the Jets even more money in an offseason where they have a lot of spending to do, and while it created a hole at defensive end, the team may be leaning towards using their 2nd overall pick on addressing that concern so now that player won’t have to split reps with two other good players in Johnson and Will McDonald.

Bringing Sweat onto the team fills a hole on the defensive interior and likely means the Jets don’t need to address that with an early pick. Sweat and Phillips can share reps with Jowon Briggs which should give the Jets solid depth at the position.