Titans rookie T'Vondre Sweat is already proving his haters wrong after NFL debut

NASHVILLE - Tennessee Titans rookie defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat has received a lot of criticism over the last six months.

Sweat was picked apart as a prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft. His retractors cited his weight, "character problems," and even called him a two-down player in an effort to cut Sweat down.

When the Titans drafted Sweat with the 38th overall pick in the draft, the selection was fairly unpopular...You all know who you are. Instead of trusting the tape and the character judgement of Ran Carthon, football fans everywhere doubted Sweat's NFL potential. They doubted his work ethic. Many felt like they already knew how the T'Vondre Sweat story was going to go. Others simply hopped on the bandwagon.

But for those who have been enamored with Sweat for some time now - a category which I am in - today is a vindicating and joyous day. The same thing goes tenfold for Sweat himself.

After a dominant NFL debut against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, the Titans' rookie defensive tackle is already flashing his potential and proving his haters wrong.

Sweat's PFF grade of 77.7 was second among all rookie defenders in Week 1. His 81.8 pass rush grade was third among all interior defensive players. Sweat also recorded a pass rush win rate of 16.7 percent.

PFF Grades are not gospel when it comes to assessing a player's efforts on game day. But when it comes to Sweat, the tape backs up the numbers.

Part of the reason Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams struggled so mightily in his NFL debut is the pocket collapsing for the inside. Sweat and Jeffery Simmons took it to the Bears interior offensive line and generated a number of pressures on Williams.

Sunday was just the beginning for T'Vondre Sweat. As I have been saying for some time now, the sky is the limit for how good he can be in the NFL. A player of Sweat's size should not be able to move so nimbly and quickly off the ball. It's just not fair.

Titans fans are probably feeling a lot of emotions after Week 1. It was an incredibly disappointing loss , and given the expectations of this team and quarterback Will Levis , there's a lot of anxiety within the Titans fanbase right now. But I'd encourage everyone to take a deep breath and trust that things will be okay.

With how Tennessee's defense looked and the dominance shown by Simmons, Sweat, and Keondre Coburn on the defensive line, the Titans are going to play some very competitive ball games this fall. Opposing offenses will have their hands full.

Related: The Titans set QB Will Levis up to fail in Week 1 loss in Chicago