Looking Back, What do You Think of the Sweat Trade Now?

[MKnight82]

The Redskins traded up in the 2019 draft to select edge rusher Montez Sweat from their original draft position (46th overall).  To do so they gave up a future 2nd, which ended up being the #34 overall pick in the upcoming draft.  

Now, I'll start this by saying I like Montez Sweat, but this trade is starting to bother me a bit.  First, let's look at who was available at 46 overall last year:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_NFL_Draft 

#46 - CB Greedy Williams

#47 - S Marquise Blair

#48 - OC Erik McCoy

#49 - LB Ben Banogu

#50 - TE Irv Smith Jr.

#51 - WR AJ Brown

 

Ouch.  Several of the guys on that list could fill some serious holes on this roster.  But it would be two players, one of those guys PLUS #34 overall this year.

Then there's the fact that we are 99% going to take another edge rusher in this upcoming draft at #2 overall.  And ya, I know Kerrigan will be 32 years old to start this upcoming season, but he should have a solid 3 years left in him, and either dumping him or regulating him to the bench doesn't maximize what resources we have.  If we hadn't taken Sweat, we could still start Kerrigan and Young at edge rusher this year.

So the question then looks like this:

Would you rather have Montez Sweat or CB Greedy Williams and WR Brandon Aiyuk?

Would you rather have Montez Sweat or TE Irv Smith Jr. and OT Josh Jones?

Would you rather have Montez Sweat or WR AJ Brown and TE Albert Okwuegbunam?  

 

[MikeT14]

At the time I liked it. Hindsight being what it is, I wouldn't have done it, but that's hindsight. 

Would you rather have Montez Sweat or CB Greedy Williams and WR Brandon Aiyuk? The latter.

Would you rather have Montez Sweat or TE Irv Smith Jr. and OT Josh Jones? Honestly? Probably Sweat here.

Would you rather have Montez Sweat or WR AJ Brown and TE Albert Okwuegbunam?  The latter, assuming taking Brown didn't stop us from taking Terry.

[turtle28]

I still like it. Sweat is just scratching the surfacee of what he can become. He had 7 sacks as a rookie (5 in the second half  of the year)and mostly played strong run defense.

If we had taken AJ Brown we probably wouldn't have taken Terry McLaurin.

Again, I’d take Sweat & Terry.

Edited March 13, 2020 by turtle28

[e16bball]

28 minutes ago, turtle28 said:

If we had taken AJ Brown we probably wouldn't have taken Terry McLaurin.

This is the key for me. There are always ripple effects that complicate something that may seem simple at first blush. No way we’re doubling up on WRs on Day 2, so a Brown pick means they go elsewhere with that 3rd rounder. 

Of course in that situation, maybe they decide they still need a pass-rusher desperately and go with Chase Winovich, another of my guys who went to NE with the pick right after Scary Terry and had a solid rookie year (5.5 sacks in part-time work). But maybe they take a worse player. It’s hard to know for sure.

At the end of the day, these counterfactual things are always hard to work through with any kind of certainty. So many different variables and missing pieces of information — most importantly, who would the Redskins actually have taken with that 2nd? It could have been a guy I really valued, like Greedy or AJ Brown, but it easily could have been a reach for a pass-rusher like Banogu or (worse) Jachai Polite, who were the next guys off the board at the position. 

I like Sweat. Love him as an athlete, love the upside, and I think he made some real progress as his rookie year went on. Maybe we didn’t get the A+ outcome (something like Greedy last year and Aiyuk/Pittman this year), but I think we got a solid B+ outcome with the trade up. And I think it could become an even better grade in the future if Sweat continues to grow towards his prodigious ceiling. Guys with his size, athleticism, and ability at a premium position don’t come around too often, and I can’t be mad that they made an aggressive move to secure him. 

[ARTMONK HOF]

If we draft Chase Young I’m glad we got Sweat. If we don’t draft CY, don’t like it. With both of them on the ends they should terrorize QB’s. 

[ovfd55]

I still like it,esp if he isn't dropping into coverage as much this year.Could we of got better if used them 2 picks differently sure,but don't see it as a bad trade

[PARROTHEAD]

I dont dislike it. But looking at what could be there for our 2nd pick this year. The talent is insane.

When the trade happened. I was not expecting there to be this level of talent found at our positions of need this year.

[THESKINSFAN21]

I like it. I wanted Sweat with the 17th overall pick. Dude is gonna be a beast

[Doc Draper]

Great question!!! First off, I’m drunk off my azz and in between sessions with Diamond and Brandy- recovery time getting longer and longer!!

 

to your question too early to tell. I like him, great athletic ability. Let’s see how he performs this year. I’m optimistic! 
 

Brothers- back to work now! It’s not work if you love it!!

 

doc out 

[offbyone]

Tough question.  Ask me again in one more year.

[naptownskinsfan]

Agree with @offbyone, I think another year goes a long way to deciding what happens here.  Obviously this hurts being the #2 pick in the second round for this year, but to get a top 10 talent like Sweat when we did was a risk worth taking IMO.  It wasn't a franchise-altering deal like the RGIII deal, or giving up a whole draft for Ricky Williams.  Plus, there is no guarantee that we end up with any of the players in the OP (based on the Redskins board at the time) nor is there any way to say they would draft McLaurin if they went with an earlier pass-catcher.  

[lavar703]

We gave up a second round pick to get a guy who ended up being one of the better rookie pass rushers as the season went on. If it wasn’t for the heart issue he never would’ve been available at that point to begin with. Yes, it certainly sucks not having our second round pick but there’s ways to get one and honestly I’d rather have Sweat then the rest of the guys you listed considering McLaurin is either just as good or better then Brown. 
 

Also, Montez had 7(Technically 8 because Dak was down) sacks with a terrible DC so I can only imagine things will get even better with JDR coaching and Chase Young rushing from the opposite side. I loved the trade then and I still love it now. 

[Skinsin2013]

14 hours ago, ARTMONK HOF said:

If we draft Chase Young I’m glad we got Sweat. If we don’t draft CY, don’t like it. With both of them on the ends they should terrorize QB’s. 

Kind of the way I feel. That's gonna be an insane duo. Kerrigan with spot snaps is gonna be really good too.

And I'll also feel better when we trade Trent Williams for a 2nd. 

[turtle28]

4 hours ago, Skinsin2013 said:

Kind of the way I feel. That's gonna be an insane duo. Kerrigan with spot snaps is gonna be really good too.

And I'll also feel better when we trade Trent Williams for a 2nd. 

I’ll feel better IF/when we get back a 2nd for Trent and IF we sign Jack Conklin. If we lose Trent & all we do is fill the spot w/ Donald Penn again or someone on that level, I won’t feel good about it.

[taylor made]

This was my main point in the Preston Smith vs Montez Sweat thread. The trade sucked at the time and it sucks now too. We are losing out on a high 2nd round pick which is almost a first rounder . This would be a perfect spot to draft someone like Antoine Winfield, Jr. at. AJ Brown or DK Metcalf were there for the taking in the second round last year. Good teams double down on positions all the time, so to say we wouldn't have taken McLaurin as well when we had Josh Doctson and Paul Richardson penciled in as starters doesn't fly with me.