Titans rookie earns rave review from top NFL analyst after impressive debut

Though the Tennessee Titans' 24-17 season-opening loss is one the team would like to forget, rookie defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat was one of the lone bright spots in a game filled with mistakes and disappointment.

Despite not showing up on the stat sheet, Sweat put together some impressive plays, showing off his power and athleticism while catching the eye of top film analyst Brian Baldinger of NFL Network and Fox Sports.

Baldinger raved about what he saw on film from Sweat, a 6-foot-4, 362-pound defensive lineman who moves with the quickness and agility of a linebacker.

“You just watch the power that he has right here; he’s just running guys over,” Baldinger said in a breakdown posted to X. “Like his power…he’s just taking the left guard right into the belly of Caleb Williams (and he’s) got to throw the ball away. It’s just one play after another. In fact, it’s not T’Vondre anymore, it’s T-Pain. He just brings the pain.”

The full video of Baldinger’s breakdown is below.

Sweat was one of Tennessee’s more productive defenders against the Bears on Sunday. He logged two pressures and two hurries on 19 pass-rushing snaps, per Pro Football Focus , and his 16.7 percent pass-rush win rate was the highest among the four Titans players with double-digit pass-rush snaps.

The 23-year-old lineman was heavily criticized leading up to the draft for his DWI arrest, and many scouts and analysts were down on him because of his weight.

But Sweat had been nothing short of impressive in training camp and the preseason, and he showed in Week 1 that he has true game-wrecking potential.