Montez Sweat’s draft stock over the past few months resembled, well, the stock market. It was mostly on an upward trend with a few spikes and valleys, causing him to be projected to go anywhere from the end of the first round early in the process to potentially the top 10.
Between his 2018 season, his combine performance and the medical red flag that was raised about a heart condition, Sweat bounced up and down draft boards. Ultimately, he was drafted by the Redskins at No. 26 overall on Thursday night after Washington traded up to select him.
Sweat nearly fell into the Rams’ lap at the end of the first round, but would they have traded away from him if he was available at No. 31 overall? Les Snead hinted that they would’ve stayed put without directly saying as much.
“Big, fast pass rushers are probably always intriguing in the NFL,” Snead said.
Snead was also asked whether he knew the Rams were going to have a trade partner before the draft began, considering it was reported on Thursday morning that they were already getting calls from teams trying to trade up.
He knew there would be options, but there had to be a scenario where one of their top targets wasn’t still on the board – someone like Sweat – but their trade partner had players still available at No. 31.
“Yes, throughout the day I’d gotten calls. And like in all of those situations we had to get to 31, their player that they desired had to be there, and obviously the players that we might have desired there couldn’t have been there, so you never truly know,” Snead said. “I can honestly tell you that we didn’t really agree to the deal until I think it was two picks, but I think Atlanta had two players they would trade for, so once it got down to one pick between us and they knew they could get their two, so we agreed to the deal.”
Sweat would’ve been an excellent value at No. 31 overall, given his talent, potential and fit in the Rams’ defense. It would’ve been extremely tough for Los Angeles to trade away from a player like that, even for the picks it got from Atlanta.
