Watch: Sweat Dominates at Senior Bowl Practice
January 23, 2019 | Football
MOBILE, Ala. – Projected first-round NFL draft pick Montez Sweat was touted by scouts and media as the most dominant defensive player on Day 1 of practice Tuesday at the Senior Bowl.
Sweat, an All-American defensive end in 2018, showcased why he was regarded as one of the most feared edge rushers in college football the last two seasons. He was virtually unguardable during the South team practice, winning nearly every matchup throughout the day.
NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah breaks down the tape of Sweat:
"One guy that has everybody buzzing coming into the week is @_sweat9." - @MoveTheSticks breaks down film of the former @HailStateFB DE
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) January 23, 2019
📺: @seniorbowl Practice pic.twitter.com/cHhwa4T933
Here's a look at Sweat dominating the final rep of 1-on-1 drills:
This looks familiar... 👀
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) January 22, 2019
⚠️ Backfields Beware ⚠️ @_sweat9 | @seniorbowl | #HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/iskqdFO4oz
What Lance Zierlein of NFL.com said of Sweat in his post-practice notebook Five stars from Day 1 of Senior Bowl practice: Sweat now a lock for top 10?:
"Sweat annihilated everyone he matched up against today during the South team practice. He's going to end up being picked in the top 10, and his performance on Tuesday demonstrates why he's going to be selected so early. The former Mississippi State star showed that he has developed a few different moves with his hands, and he also showed some variety in how he rushed guys. The bottom line is he used his length to defeat blockers in pass protection on a consistent basis. He's 6-foot-6, 252 pounds with 35 5/8-inch arms. That's a big deal to NFL teams. Everyone knows he's going to grow into his frame like Danielle Hunter did coming out of LSU, and that's my player comp for him. Hunter wasn't a first-round pick -- he went in the third round -- but Sweat is going to be a first-rounder because teams are going to be quicker to recognize his talent than they were with Hunter. Sweat was the most dominant guy out here on Day 1. If you had him as a late first-rounder, you need to go back and reassess your grade for him. I projected him for the late teens in Round 1 coming into this week, but that might be too low for him."
Why come to the Senior Bowl?
Firmly projected as a first-round draft choice after racking up 22 sacks and 29.5 tackles for loss in 26 games with the Bulldogs, Sweat was asked in a post-practice interview on NFL Network by Jeremiah why he decided to come to the Senior Bowl to compete.
"I just feel like I've still got a whole lot to prove," Sweat said. "I wanted to play with these coaches and also learn something from them, just keep on getting better."
Watch the full NFL Network interview below:
"I just continued to show what I showed all year, getting after the ball, getting after the passer, just playing my heart out."
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) January 23, 2019
🗣 Montez Sweat on @nflnetwork@_sweat9 | #HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/HbQHqw4t8P
