The stage is set for both young defensive ends Montez Sweat and Chase Young coming into the 2023 NFL season. Both players are heading into a contract year in which there is nothing keeping them on the roster after that.
For Sweat, it’s a matter of determining how much they have to pay him to keep him away from the open market; for Chase, it’s more about proving himself after injury. The team has publicly stated they want to keep both, but in the world of salary caps and multiple $100 million-dollar contracts for defensive linemen, it seems highly unlikely for that to happen.
Can Montez Sweat Become an Elite Pass Rusher?
One of the main topics of this film review is to talk about if Montez Sweat can break through that last wall and become an elite NFL pass rusher. The film review video should have popped up at the top of the screen (where the picture would normally be) when the article first opened up. If not, you can click here for the video.
Below is a summary (via chatGPT) from this Watchin’ Film With Phil episode:
“The video is an in-depth analysis of Montez Sweat, a defensive end for the Washington Commanders, focusing on his performance and potential for the 2023 NFL season.”
Key points from the video:
- Background: Montez Sweat is 26 years old and is about to hit the prime of his NFL career. He is set to make 11.5 million on his fifth-year option in 2023, which the team decided to pick up last offseason. His market could be anywhere from 16 million to as high as 24 million, depending on his performance in the upcoming season.
- Competition: The team has set up a competition between Montez Sweat and Chase Young to see who will get a big extension next off-season. They decided not to pick up Chase Young’s fifth-year option a few weeks back, possibly to motivate him and see if his rookie-year production could return. However, they can only tag one player a year, so if they can’t work out deals with both, they can only tag one of them.
- Performance: In 17 starts last year, Sweat had eight sacks, 28 quarterback hits, and 14 tackles for loss. In his career, he has 29 total sacks, 74 quarterback hits, and 37 tackles for loss. However, for the first time in his career last year, he didn’t force a single turnover. He had forced eight turnovers in previous years.
- Potential: The commentator believes that Sweat has the potential to become an elite player. To do this, he needs to start hitting home more often, meaning he needs to convert more of his near-misses into sacks and turnovers. The commentator points out several instances of in-game footage where Sweat was just a fraction of a second away from sacking the quarterback.
- Expectations: The commentator suggests that if Sweat wants to secure a big long-term deal, he needs to increase his production in 2023. Less than 10 sacks will not get him paid at an elite level. The commentator believes that Sweat could be the next 100-million-dollar man if he starts hitting home more often and putting up bigger numbers.
“The video ends with the commentator encouraging viewers to like the video, subscribe to the channel, and share their thoughts in the comments.”
*If the video didn’t pop up for you at the top of the post, you can view it by clicking the word video linked all over this article (you’ll be taken directly to the video itself when the link opens).
