San Francisco 49ers: Why Montez Sweat is worth trading down for in 2019 NFL Draft

EDGE Montez Sweat has turned heads during a magnificent lead-up to the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine. Here, Niner Noise looks at why Sweat would be the top candidate to look at if the San Francisco 49ers choose to trade down from pick No. 2 in the NFL Draft.

For the San Francisco 49ers, there seems to be four choices when it comes to Pick No. 2 on draft day.

Five, if we look at recent mocks.

The Niners could go with Ohio State EDGE Nick Bosa, Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, Kentucky EDGE Josh Allen, Michigan defensive tackle Rashan Gary (for some reason, he’s becoming a mock option to the 49ers), or trade down for more picks.

For this article, we look at the latter, and specifically at Mississippi State EDGE Montez Sweat, who was nothing short of perfect in the 2019 Senior Bowl, to become a potential selection in the first half of Round 1.

Even more specifically, San Francisco is going to be “trading” with the Denver Broncos for the No. 10 overall pick. It’s not a secret the Broncos need a quarterback, and general manager John Elway has been reported as being “smitten” with Missouri quarterback Drew Lock.

Unfortunately for Elway, Lock had a very strong showing during the Senior Bowl as well, which would make him among the candidates to be the first quarterback off the board. We’ve seen before that teams will trade up to take quarterbacks regardless of any failings they might have, and Elway would have to pull the trigger on a trade to make sure he gets his man.

So, if he calls on the 49ers, there may be plenty of opportunity to do the trading equivalent of “taking him by the ankles and shaking him to see how much money falls out.”

Sweat is a physical specimen. Teams are sometimes guilty of exaggerating the height and weight of a player. But at the Senior Bowl, Sweat measured in at 6-foot-6 and 252 pounds. He also recorded a highly impressive 84.5-inch wingspan, which is the biggest ever recorded since these recordings became public knowledge in 1999:

He isn’t just limited to his physique, however. Sweat was highly productive at Mississippi State, recording 30 tackles for loss and 22.5 sacks in his two seasons as a Bulldog.

Sweat was beating defenders left and right both during the season and at the Senior Bowl, using his incredible length to stifle blockers from getting a hold on him before using his speed to move by him and get to the quarterback or to the ball carrier. Sweat also has the strength to simply go right through blockers.

So, why isn’t Sweat considered one of the elite talents of this draft class? Well, Sweat had disciplinary problems at Michigan State before transferring, which does raise some concerns (although he kept his nose clean at Mississippi State).

Sweat is also someone with very limited lateral speed. He plays with tight hips and can be ridden around in the pocket if he’s unable to use his arms to create separation. Unlike Bosa or Allen, he’s not an EDGE who could be depended on to change direction quickly and create separation that way.

But that being said, his length, production, ability and impressive Senior Bowl means he would be worth a top 10 pick. If the 49ers trade down with the Broncos for pick No. 10 and a bounty of other picks, and then get Sweat as part of the deal, that would be sweet.

It would take a huge bunch of picks to pass up Bosa or Allen as an EDGE selection, but this may just be enough to do it.