The🎶 Montez Sweat trade is aging li♔ke my favorite wine.
Full transparency: I was iffy on the Sweat trade. The Bears were struggling and the idea of sending a second-round pick away at the NFL Trade Deadline for a second consecutive made my stomach uneasy — especially with how things were looking one year after the Chase Claypool deal. And at the time, there was no guarantee that Sweat would sign an extension with Chicago because he was on the cusp of hitting free agency. But General Manager Ryan Poles struck quickly to keep Montez Sweat around. In return, Sweat played his best ball of the year and helped elevate Matt Eberflus’ defense.
Now, Sweat finds himself as onဣe of the 100 best players in th🗹e NFL:
I think puts into perspective how ♐much of a monster Montez Sweat is along the de🌄fensive line:
“We actually played the Commanders the first week. We had a game plan around him. [We were] thinking we weren’t gonna see him the rest of the year and then he gets traded mid-year. We play the Chicago Bears at the end of the year and then we gotta block Sweat again.”
Ouch! Imagine thinking you don’t have to worry about that guy on your schedule after Week 1 — only to find out you have to prepare for him again. I do not envy opposing offenses that have to scheme against Montez Sweat. Not one bit.
Chicago Bears defensive end Montez Sweat ranks 82nd on NFL’s top 100 list for 2024
This is Montez Sweat’s first appearance on the NFL’s Top 100. It comes on the heels of a season in which he collected 12.5 sacks, 14 tackles-for-loss, and 25 quarterback hits in 17 games en route to his first Pro Bowl appearance. He also added three forced fumbles for good measure. A bulk of those numbers came in nine games with the Bears, as he picked up 6 sacks, 4 TFLs, and 14 QB hits in nine games. Pro Football Focus graded Sweat as the 33rd-best edge defender among the 112 players who suited up for enough snaps to qualify for the leaderboard in 2023. In other words, Sweat was in good company last season.
Plus, he pulled off the impressive feat of leading two teams in sacks. Sweat’s 6 sacks in 9 games with the Bears and 6.5 sacks in 8 games with the Washington Commanders were the top marks for each team. It truly was a historic season for Montez in 2023. I am very much looking forward to seeing what he does for an encore.
Montez Sweat Throws Down the Gauntlet: “I’m Not Losing to Green Bay This Year”
So what does the future hold for Montez Sweat? According to statistical forecasts, it looks like good news for the Bears and bad news for opposing quarterbacks. The latest batch of preseason projections has Sweat down for 9 sacks this season. If Sweat lives up to those expectations, then he’ll lead the team in sacks for a second consecutive season. The Bears missed having a player of Sweat’s caliber on their defense after the trade of Khalil Mack. Ideally, Montez Sweat takes the torch and runs with it for the foreseeable future.
Here is the snazzy video package produced by the NFL Films team showcasing Montez Sweat’s awesomeness via :
Montez Sweat has made his official NFL Top 100 debut. 👀
Ranked at #82. Should be a lot higher next year. 🤫
Here’s the clip ⬇️ — Bearsszn (@bearssznn)
