Tag: Montez Sweat

History suggests Seahawks could find star with No. 26 pick

The Seattle Seahawks are selecting 26th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, and history suggests they could find a hidden gem.

The 2020 NFL draft order has been set, and the Seattle Seahawks hold the No. 26 pick in the first round.

The Seahawks have selected 26th one other time, back in 2005 when they took center Chris Spencer out of Mississippi – two spots behind quarterback Aaron Rodgers and just before receiver Roddy White and tight end Heath Miller.

However, Seattle is known for wheeling and dealing on draft day, and it is entirely possible the team will move up or down in the draft a handful of times before and during the three day draft weekend.

If they do keep the 26th pick, history suggests they could find themselves a nice player. Left tackle Duane Brown (2008) and outside linebacker Clay Matthews (2009) were both taken No. 26 overall, along with Hall of Famer Ray Lewis (1996) and potential future Hall of Famer Alan Faneca (1998).

Receiver Calvin Ridley (2018) and pass rusher Takkarist McKinley (2017) are two recent players who are both panning out well from that draft slot, and Montez Sweat had a solid rookie season after going 26th to the Redskins last year.

It is anyone’s guess this early in the process what the Seahawks will do with their pick, but you can bet they already on their way toward finding an impact performer who could be around at that spot, or else pinpointing teams they can wheel and deal with to acquire more picks in the middle rounds.

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Instant Analysis, Game Balls, Key Stats: Cowboys 47, Washington 16

The Dallas Cowboys closed out Week 17 with a 47-16 beatdown of the divisional rival Washington, that was ultimately meaningless.

And with that, it was over. The book closed on perhaps the most disappointing Dallas Cowboys season in recent memory, as a year that began with seemingly very real Super Bowl aspirations ended with an 8-8 record and no playoffs.

The Jekell and Hyde performances continued, as Dallas again thrashed an inferior opponent 47-16. It was all for naught however, and perhaps was the final note of the Jason Garrett coaching era.

It was over when . . .

. . . Michael Gallup’s second touchdown reception of the game put the Cowboys up 37-16. It was nearly simultaneous with an Eagles touchdown that put them ahead by two scores in the fourth quarter, on their way to winning the division by beating the New York Giants.

Game balls

WR Michael Gallup

The second-year receiver recorded his fourth. fifth, and sixth TD receptions of the season, capping out a promising 2019 for the former third round pick. Each of Gallup’s touchdowns were uniquely inspiring: a 4-yard toe-tapping pirouette, some insane body control to absorb a hit and then scamper 32-yards down the sideline, and a slick route to get behind the defense and find a seam.

This season, Gallup and Amari Cooper combined to be the first pair of 1000-yard receivers in Dallas since Dez Bryant and Jason Witten in 2012.

RB Ezekiel Elliott

Forever Hungry Ezekiel Elliott ran for 122 yards on the ground, giving him seven 100+ yard rushing games in 2019. He scored two total touchdowns, including his second receiving touchdown of the season, off some nice improvisation with Dak Prescott. Elliott finished the season with 1,357 rushing yards.

LB Jaylon Smith

Jaylon Smith was extremely active, finishing with eight total tackles (six solo, one for loss) and the first interception of his career. It may not have been the season many were expecting  from this Dallas defense, but the talent is clearly there for whatever the future may hold.

Key Stat: +113

The 2019 Dallas Cowboys finished the season with a +113 point differential, a mark that typically belies a playoff-bound team. It’s actually a depressingly impressive feat that Dallas was able to put up stats like these, yet still win only 8 games.

Quick Hits:

  • The Cowboys defense recorded turnovers on their first two series, as Smith’s interception was followed by Malcolm Smith forced fumble on Adrian Peterson (recovered by Xavier Woods). Smith’s presence may not have saved this season, but the former Super Bowl MVP definitely made an impact in the two games he played.
  • DE Robert Quinn notched another sack, giving 11.5 to lead the team. It was also the second-highest sack total Quinn’s recorded in a single season. A free agent at the end of the season, it’ll certainly be interesting to see whether the Cowboys decide to bring him back after a successful season.
  • Before Elliott’s second quarter touchdown reception, Kai Forbath had scored the 15 straight points for Dallas dating back to Week 16. Forbath stayed perfect as a Cowboy, hitting all four of his field goal tries to finish 10 for 10 in four games after taking over for Brett Maher.
  • Montez Sweat was guilty of some Mississippi State Bulldog on Bulldog crime. The 26th overall pick of the 2019 draft had a big game, sacking Prescott twice and forcing a fumble. Sweat finished with seven sacks as a rookie, making things real interesting for Washington with the second overall pick, who’ve gone defensive line-heavy with their last several first-round selections.
  • After recording only 126 receiving yards in his last three games, Amari Cooper totaled 92 in the season finale. 48 of the them came on a free play in the second quarter, setting up the Cowboys’ first touchdown of the game. Cooper also took a reverse for 6 yards. his first and only rushing attempt of this season. What the team ultimately decides to do with Cooper after his lackluster finish will be a major storyline this offseason.
  • With draft season officially upon us, Dallas will have the 17th overall pick in the upcoming draft.

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Redskins throwing Montez Sweat to the wolves in coverage

Montez Sweat is still struggling to adapt in coverage.

The Washington Redskins aren’t taking it easy on first-round rookie Montez Sweat.

As seen in the tweet above from Pro Football Focus’ Nick Akridge, the Redskins dropped Sweat into coverage 12 times during the loss to the Eagles — to predictable results.

One wouldn’t expect defensive coordinator Greg Manusky to take it easy on Sweat at this point, not with the season lost and things fully in evaluation mode.

But the verdict here isn’t too hard to see — Sweat needs to be getting after passers. In time, maybe he develops into a versatile all-around player who can drop into coverage seamlessly.

There’s a broader problem here if the Redskins keep banging their head against the wall and hoping for this to change soon after spending so much in the way of assets to trade up and get Sweat in the first place.

For now, testing it out makes sense.

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Montez Sweat gets a bump in playing time with Ryan Kerrigan out for year

It’s go time for Montez Sweat.

It’s somewhat fitting with the Washington Redskins in evaluation mode that first-round pick Montez Sweat could see a bump in snaps as the season comes to a close.

The unfortunate injury suffered by Ryan Kerrigan resulted in the veteran pass rusher getting moved to injured reserve Friday.

According to Zach Selby of the team’s official website, Redskins coaches have said it means Sweat will see more looks.

Sweat has played on 61 percent of the snaps so far this season, has been steadily improving and has 11 hurries and five sacks so far.

Like the secondary behind him, Sweat will have some live-action chances to improve his game as the Redskins build toward the future.

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Redskins’ Montez Sweat wants more sacks

The Redskins rookie wants to get after QBs more.

Montez Sweat wants to hit quarterbacks more often.

Sounds simple enough. But over the course of his first half-season as a pro, the Washington Redskins first-round pick has just 2.5 sacks.

Asked about his current predicament, Sweat offered the following, according to Les Carpenter of the Washington Post:

“They didn’t bring me in here to stop the run…They brought me here to get sacks…Of course with experience I get a little better, feel a little better and get more confidence out there.”

But a somewhat-unspoken situation must go addressed here — Sweat isn’t alone in his struggles. Even a superstar like Ryan Kerrigan has had problems generating pressure consistently this year.

With Sweat, rookie growing pains were always going to be part of the process. He was considered a high-upside project when the Redskins moved back into the first round to get him and still is.

Luckily for all involved, Sweat has already flashed well in other areas, so he isn’t one dimensional. He’s also starting to put together more complete-looking games, which could continue to trend in that direction as the season continues.

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