Seahawks one of first teams to get an explanation from this troubled draft prospect
By Lee Vowell
There are only about two weeks until the 2024 NFL draft and the Seattle Seahawks, like every other NFL team, are trying to finalize who they will have high on the draft board and who they will not. Part of the plan might be if general manager John Schneider thinks he will be successful in trading back. For instance, if Schneider believes he will move Seattle's pick into the 20s and also pick up a second-round choice, that might change who Seattle has atop their board because some players will likely be gone.
One player that Seattle clearly has an interest in is Texas defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat. The defensive tackle has great size at 6'4" and 366 pounds but with good athleticism. He ran a 5.27 40 at the NFL Combine and while that is not receiver-fast, for someone who is 366 pounds, he was moving extremely fast. The key with Sweat, however, is that he is not only big, he is strong and nearly impossible to move, even by an NFL offensive lineman.
Sweat is not going to show the kind of explosiveness where he gets lots of interior pressure, but the Seahawks probably are not looking for him to do that anyway. Seattle needs run-stoppers and Sweat should be able to eat up blockers at the NFL level and allow other players to make plays. He has excellent balance and a good understanding of what his job will be in terms of the scheme of the overall defensive plan.
Seattle Seahawks are reportedly looking at T'Vondre Sweat in the 2024 NFL draft
The problem for Sweat entering the draft now, however, is his draft stock might be hurt by his recent arrest for DWI. According to KXAN in Austin, Sweat was "arrested by the Austin Police Department and booked into Travis County Jail at 2:12 p.m. Sunday (April 7). Driving while intoxicated is a Class B misdemeanor. Sweat posted a $3,000 bond and was released from custody shortly after he was booked."
For the player, his arrest could not come at a worse time as he is only two weeks from being drafted and many teams thinking of taking him might not be able to get an answer from the player on what really happened. The Seahawks are not one of those teams, though, as Seattle is set to meet with the defensive tackle this week, according to the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Seattle should be able to decide whether to take Sweat or not based on the information he gives the team.
Seattle could be scared off from taking Sweat based on the issues the team had with second-round pick Malik McDowell. McDowell had concerns entering the draft and then had an ATV accident prior to ever playing a game for the team. Sweat's situation and personal traits could be completely different, though, so one might have no bearing at all on the other.
But Seattle does need someone who can stop the run. Sweat can do that. If Seattle gets a second-round selection back somehow and Sweat is still available, the team might take him, assuming everything else works out beforehand.