Scout Report – Montez Sweat

• Position: Defensive End (Edge, 5-Tech)
• College: Mississippi State Bulldogs
• Pre-Draft Position Rank: 2 of 29

Age: 22 | Height: 6’6 | Weight: 260 lbs
NFL Size Comparison: Chandler Jones

• Average Opposing Offense Rank: 64.9
• Average Opposing Pass Offense Rank: 68.4
• Average Opposing Rush Offense Rank: 58.9
• Average Points per game: 31.0/game
• Recorded Block Shed Record: 15-18-13, 4 DT
  • 33% Shed Rate, 61% contention rate
• Recorded Tackle Record: 6-2, 2 assists

RESUME:

• 4th most sacks in the nation (12)
  • 2nd most in the SEC conference
• 6th most tackles for loss in the SEC conference (15)
• Best game: vs. #8 Auburn (W 23-9)
  • 3 TFL | 3 sacks | 1 Forced Fumble
• Played against 4 ranked opponents (2-2)
  • vs. #8 Auburn (W 23-9)
  • @ #5 LSU (L 3-19)
    • 7 tackles (4 solo, 3 assisted) | 1 TFL | 1 sack
  • vs. #16 Texas A&M (W 28-13)
    • 2 tackles (1 solo, 1 assisted)
  • @ #1 Alabama (L 0-24)
    • 5 total tackles (4 solo, 1 assisted)
• Played against 3 top-25 offenses
  • #16 Texas A&M, ranked 15th
    
  • #1 Alabama, ranked 6th
    
  • Ole Miss, ranked 9th
    
• Played against 2 top-25 pass offense
  • #1 Alabama, ranked 6th
    
  • Ole Miss, ranked 5th
    
• Played against 2 top-25 rush offenses
  • Louisiana, ranked 22nd
    
  • #16 Texas A&M, ranked 21st
• First-Team All-American (2018)
  
• First-Team All-SEC (2018)
  

Strengths:

• Level headed approach, keeps himself paced and does not overextend
• Able to transition from a failed technique to a different approach without losing ground
• Shows both strength and speed, being able to rush from the edge as well as the interior
• Plays intelligently, does not bite on fakes and makes few errors or mistakes
• Shows adequate top speed with a 4.4 40 yard dash
• Solid tackling mechanics
• Penetrates the pocket consistently
• Makes use of long arms to create spacing between him and lineman
• Powerful initial burst

Weaknesses:

• Does not possess great chase down speed
• lets blockers square up when they block him
• Can be slow to shed the block
• Slow hands can stall him on the line of scrimmage when slipping past defenders
• Does not have strong legs to drive with power every play
• Major part of a sub package, spends a significant portion of games on the sideline

Bold Predictions:

• Draft Placement: 1st Round
• Plays like: Danielle Hunter
• Ceiling: NFL Starter
• Floor: 4 and out

Overview:

Sweat is a players whose playstyle is governed by intelligence. His attempts to penetrate the pocket has a solid initial burst, and he uses his long arms in order to create space and transition into a technique. Sweat does not possess exceptionally quick hands, so his attempts to shed the block can be slow. Level-headed demeanor, and instincts are sharp enough to keep him in the play, though he lacks that level of acceleration to quickly chase down runners who get past the line of scrimmage or bounce to the outside, limiting his effective range on the play to only in the tackle box. Has a sharp initial burst to immediately close the gap and gain favorable positioning against blockers, though he does have a habit of letting them square up against him and face up block, making him more susceptible to getting stalled on the line of scrimmage. As a complete work, Sweat’s weaknesses are fairly easy to coach out of, and his intelligent play is quite rare to possess at such an early level. Can easily be an NFL starter out of the gate.