The Tennessee Titans drafted T'Vondre Sweat as the 38th overall pick on Friday. While the defensive tackle is a promising prospect for the team, there were still concerns lingering around his recent DWI arrest earlier this month. Asked by the media about the incident, Titans general manager Ran Carthon revealed that the team took extra steps to evaluate the situation ahead of the draft.
“We brought him (Sweat) in and spent the day with him, Carthon said, per ESPN's Turron Davenport. “…He's got a great personality, fun-loving, but you can see that he was extremely affected when we brought him in. We spend a lot of time talking about it (the arrest). I know he was ready to talk about it with anybody that wanted to listen, and he was forthright and honest.”
Additionally, Carthon disclosed that he and other team representatives went over to Sweat's hometown to spend time with the DT and his family.
“Something that's not documented is (how) we actually went down to visit with him and the family because we wanted to know more and spend more time…and see the people that he surrounds himself with. So myself, Cal (Brian Callahan), Tracy Rocker and Anthony Robinson, we flew down to his hometown and spent the morning with him, his mom, his brother and his grandfather.”
“(We) really got to know him as a person and what the expectations would be for us if he was here and put that on the line. We had some tough conversations (on) why he was there (in reference to the arrest) — not only tough conversations with him, but tough conversations with his family in the room…there's an adjustment period that all these guys have to go through…it's gonna take the people outside to help us with that. So we wanted that to come across with his family, have a strong relationship with his representation,” he added.
T'Vondre Sweat heads to Tennessee
Back on April 7, Sweat was arrested on DWI charges by Austin police officers after the DT got into a car accident at Interstate 35. He was eventually released on a $3,000 bond.
Nonetheless, the amount of effort shown by the Titans to address the incident shows how much they value their prospect. And based on Sweat's on-field performance, it's no surprise that Carthon and Co. would go the extra mile to ensure that the 22-year-old is free of distraction moving forward.
A five-year player with Texas football, T'Vondre Sweat amassed career totals of 127 combined tackles (47 solo, 80 assisted), 13 passes defended and five sacks. He won the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, where he put up 45 tackles (18 solo), four passes defended and two sacks.
Now, he adds depth to a D-Line spearheaded by two-time Pro Bowler Jeffery Simmons. Sweat joins former college opponent JC Latham — the Titans' first-round pick — as the second rookie for this year's Tennessee squad.
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