Bulldogs in the NFL: Season Outlook for Washington DE Montez Sweat
Washington Football Team defensive end Montez Sweat has had a nice start to his young career -- and given the talent around him, there’s plenty to be excited about entering the 2021 NFL season.
As a rookie in 2019, Sweat had seven sacks in 16 games. The former Mississippi State Bulldog generated an instantaneous impression on a Washington defense in need of a new identity.
In his sophomore year, Sweat was just as fantastic, if not better. After Washington selected defensive end Chase Young with the second overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, many believed Sweat’s production would decline.
However, in the NFL, two dangerous pass rushers is always better than one.
Adding Young alongside Sweat only helped both players as Washington’s defensive front consistently created chaos for opposing quarterbacks throughout the 2020 NFL season. Both Sweat and Young feasted on opposing offensive lines in a pandemic-riddled NFL season.
Sweat ended his sophomore season with nine sacks, 12 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, six pass deflections, one interception and one defensive touchdown.
A sneaky good season for the former Bulldog.
Season outlook:
Several factors come into play when evaluating the season Sweat could have; and the biggest one is the continued development of his teammate – Chase Young.
Young’s trajectory suggests that he'll almost certainly continue to improve and eventually become one of the more dominant pass rushers in the NFL. What does that mean for his pal, Sweat? A whole lot, actually.
The better Young is, the more it helps Sweat as opposing teams will look to double-team Young multiple times throughout a game. Essentially, the more dominant Young becomes, the less attention opposing offensive lines and coaches will scheme up for Sweat.
If Sweat can see more one-on-one assignments this season, and his game continues to develop and project optimistically in the 2021 NFL season, we could be looking at not just one of the more dangerous pass-rushing duos in the NFC East -- but in the entire league.
