Josh Sweat has been the talk of Eagles centric conversation all summer long in the wake of Michael Bennett being traded to the Patriots and Chris Long deciding to retire. The Eagles brought back Vinny Curry and drafted Shareef Miller, but Sweat is the guy most observers hope takes the next step at defensive end.
The athletic and lean former Florida State star added 22 pounds to his frame this summer in hopes of being able to hold up at the point of attack. For Sweat, he’s hopeful that he’ll have “a big year” as Lane Johnson predicted.
“I’ve worked hard on my technique and I think I’m much better there,” he said. “It’s coming along. I feel a lot different from last year to now. I’ve watched a lot of film, studied a lot. It helped a lot. I know I need to earn it. I want to play. I want to be out there and to do that I have to earn my playing time.
“Coming out of my rookie year I know I needed to get stronger, and I needed to gain some weight. I think I’ve put the work into it. You can’t stay the same in this league. You have to get better and you have to know where to put your hands and do it the right way every time.
“My expectation is that I want to play. I want to show them what I can do and then I can take off.”
Sweat is the guy that Eagles brass wants to develop into that fourth defensive end who can provide pressure on the outside, complimenting Derek Barnett and Brandon Graham when they’re not in the game. Vinny Curry will likely be the third defensive end, but his presence is more of a run stopper than pass rusher.
