Montez Sweat’s freakish athleticism translating into production

ASHBURN — When Chase Young compliments Montez Sweat by referring to him as a “freak,” understand that that description is not just a reference to his teammate’s absurd 7-foot wingspan and 35-inch long arms.

Or Sweat’s blazing 4.41 in the 40 that was the fastest ever for a defensive lineman at the NFL combine.

It’s Young’s way of summing up the combination of impressive physical attributes and grade-A football instincts that have made Sweat a force an increasingly dominant Washington Football Team defensive unit.

In his second year, Sweat is rewarding a franchise that traded back into the first round of the 2019 NFL draft to grab him.

Over the last two weeks, especially, Sweat has made plays that have sealed victories for Washington with displays of athleticism rarely seen in a lineman. On Monday, Sweat’s tip of a Ben Roethlisberger pass led to an interception. Then on Thanksgiving in Dallas, he batted Andy Dalton’s throw right into his own hands and returned it all the way to the end zone.

Sweat’s ability to disrupt plays at the line of scrimmage, even when he’s not recording sacks, is one reason Pro Football Focus (PFF) ranks him as one of the 15 best edge rushers in 2020.

“For me, I don’t think I’ve batted one ball in the NFL,” defensive lineman Jonathan Allen said. “It’s never been something I’ve been particularly good at. To him, it’s just impressive to see happen. … He has the body type for it, just the intuition to know the timing of the quarterback.”

According to PFF, Sweat has batted down five passes this season — second-most among the league’s defensive linemen. Four of those have come in the last two weeks, but Allen said Sweat has been working all year to make them happen.

At 6-foot-6, Sweat’s height is an advantage, and it’s no surprise he played basketball in high school, averaging 1.4 blocks per game his senior year. Like a basketball player, Sweat often times his jump — or puts up his hands — just right.

When coach Ron Rivera was with Carolina in 2019, Rivera said the Panthers were fascinated by Sweat as a prospect. Holding the 16th overall pick, Carolina drafted edge rusher Brian Burns instead, but Rivera added the selection “came down to him and Brian.” The room went “back and forth, back and forth,” he said.

While Carolina chose Burns — a highly productive player in his own right — Rivera has seen Sweat take a major step forward since his pre-draft evaluation. When Washington drafted Young this past spring, the hope was that Sweat would benefit greatly from the addition.

Opposing offensive lines, the thought went, would focus on Young and that would give Sweat more one-on-one matchups, creating more opportunities to get after the quarterback. That’s happened as Sweat leads Washington with six sacks.

Rivera, though, said Sweat and Young have also benefited from each other off the field.

“Those two guys are kind of becoming two peas in a pod,” Rivera said. “They work out together. They hang out together. They talk about football together. That’s one of the things that you like. You do see maturity and growth.”

Growth and production: With six sacks, Sweat is just two away from passing his rookie total (seven). According to Pro Football Focus, he already has more quarterback hits (eight from five), hurries (20 from 19) and batted passes (five from two) in his second season.

Sweat credit his success in games in part to his focus on details when studying film. On the Thanksgiving interception, for instance, Sweat noticed that the Cowboys were running the same play that they ran twice in their first meeting with Washington a month earlier. Each time, Dalton’s pass sailed over Sweat’s head before he could time his jump.

This time, Sweat let the play further develop.

“I said when they did it again, I wasn’t going to let it get over my head,” Sweat said.