The 2024 NFL Draft is quickly approaching, and all eyes are on the prospects that are set to make the leap from college to the NFL. While there isn't much time between now and the Chicago Bears making the first overall pick, draft stocks are still rising and falling everyday, and the latter could unfortunately be true for star Texas Longhorns defensive lineman T'Vondre Sweat.
Sweat is considered one of the top interior lineman in this draft class, but he was recently arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated before eventually posting his $3,000 bond. This legal incident isn't stopping Sweat, though, as he almost immediately lined up pre-draft visits with the Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks shortly after the news came to light.
Texas DT T'Vondre Sweat is flying to Tennessee today for a visit with the #Titans and will visit the #Seahawks later this week.⁰
Sweat posted $3,000 bond after his Sunday arrest on suspicion of DWI. His pre-draft process — and a chance to explain the situation — continues. pic.twitter.com/HDF58WOozj— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 8, 2024
T'Vondre Sweat hoping draft stock not impacted by recent arrest
Sweat gradually turned himself into a star with the Longhorns, and he put together his best season of work in 2023 (45 tackles, two sacks, 4 PD, 8 TFL). That ended up leading him to be named a Unanimous All-American and winning the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and it was clear to all that he was going to be one of the first, if not the first, interior linemen off the board.
Off field concerns play a factor in determining where players are drafted, though, and a potential red flag has popped up regarding Sweat that teams will now be wary of. While he's already posted bond and is visiting teams, this could be the difference between getting drafted in the second round (which is where he was initially projected to get taken) to falling into the third or fourth rounds.
Teams are clearly still interested in Sweat, as he visited with the Titans on Monday, and has a visit with the Seahawks coming up. Both squads could certainly use some help on their interior d-line, and while the Titans have a pick in the second-round in the range Sweat is expected to be selected, the Seahawks are without a second-round pick, but they could conceivably move up the board if he ends up falling.
Could this incident result in teams opting to not use a second-round pick on Sweat? Certainly, as you don't want to burn a high draft pick on a player with off-field concerns. So it will now be up to the talented defensive lineman to convince teams interested in him that this isn't something to be concerned about in hopes that he can still come off the board fairly early.
It will be interesting to keep an eye on Sweat as the pre-draft process winds down, as he could have hurt his draft stock in a big way by failing to stay out of trouble. It's a good sign that teams appear to still be interested in him, and he's going to get drafted one way or another. Whether he will still be a second-round pick, though, appears to be up in the air, and it will be interesting to see where he ends up getting selected.
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