FLOWERY BRANCH – The NFL draft is set for April 25 through 27 in Nashville, Tenn. and each morning we'll take a look at a player on the Falcons' draft board.
Today we’ll look at Mississippi State defensive end Montez Sweat, who’s a projected top 10 pick that the Falcons would have to trade up to land.
Sweat, who played at Stephenson High, started his career at Michigan State as a tight end. He’s projected to be the first player from Georgia taken in the draft.
Falcons coach Dan Quinn said defensive end is one of the team’s draft priorities.
The Sweat file:
Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 260 pounds
40-yard dash: 4.41 seconds
Bench: 225 pounds 21 times
Vertical: 36 inches
10-yard split: 1.54 seconds
20-yard: 2.54 seconds
3-Cone Drill: 7.0 seconds
Broad Jump: 10-feet, 5-inches
5 questions with Sweat
Q: Who would you model your game after?
A: "I watch a lot of pass-rushers. I think old-time pass-rushers like Jason Taylor has a lot of my skill set. He's long, he's fast. I watch him a lot."
Q: What’s your top move?
A: "I like the long-arm really well. I believe I work the swipe off of that very well. But generally the long arm is what I go to first."
Q: Are pass-rushers more coveted these days?
A: "Yes, pass-rushers are definitely at a premium in the NFL. It's a passing league. (Inaudible something about getting big bucks). Teams want people who are going to get after the quarterback, most definitely."
Q: Are you more comfortable in a 3-4/4-3?
A: "I'm blessed to do both. Whatever team takes me, I will be blessed to do that."
Q: What happened with the Michigan State incident?
A: "I was there for a year. I started out young and immature, and I was dismissed. I've grown from that so much, and I just want to keep on building on that and show teams I've matured a lot."
ATLANTA FALCONS 2019 DRAFT PICKS
- Round 1, No. 14 overall
- Round 2, No. 45 overall
- Round 3, No. 79 overall
- Round 4, No. 117 overall
- Round 4, No. 137 overall (Compensatory)
- Round 5, No. 152 overall
- Round 5, No. 172 overall (Compensatory)
- Round 6, No. 186 overall
- Round 7, No. 230 overall
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