Another astute trade by Jets GM Darren Mougey has garnered accolades from ESPN.com -- this one the acquisition of DT T'Vondre Sweat from Tennessee that sent edge Jermaine Johnson to the Titans. The Jets were given a grade of A- for the deal.
"The Jets came out of last year's trade deadline with two of the very best deals in that period," writes Seth Walder. "While hardly on the same scale, they kicked off the 2026 trade season with another shrewd move in swapping out Johnson for Sweat in a one-for-one swap."
Those other two "very best deals" sent CB Sauce Gardner to Indianapolis for a pair of first-round draft picks (No. 16 this year and in 2027), plus WR Adonai Mitchell; and DT Quinnen Williams to Dallas for a second-round pick (No. 44) this year, a 2027 first-round pick, and defensive tackle Mazi Smith. At present, the Jets own three first-round picks in 2027.
"Sweat, a 2024 second-round pick, has been a solid starting nose tackle for Tennessee. He should help the Jets' run defense and provide some pass rush from the nose. While his 6.5% pass rush win rate at defensive tackle is below average for the position, it's not bad considering where he lines up. He'll join a Jets interior group that includes Harrison Phillips and Jowon Briggs.”
Note that the Harrison Phillips deal was another one of Mougey's productive trades, acquired from Minnesota along with a 2027 seventh-round pick for a pair of sixth-round picks (this year and in 2027).
Sweat, 24, was selected out of Texas by the Titans No. 38 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. He played in all 17 games his rookie season and had 51 total tackles (22 solo), a sack and 4 TFL while taking 66% of the snaps on defense. After his first season, Pro Football Focus graded him a 75.0 overall against the ground attack, the eighth-best in the NFL among the 99 qualifying defensive tackles.
He was limited to 12 games last season after he sustained an ankle injury in Week 1 at Denver, missed a game, returned and then re-injured the ankle and ended up on injured reserve until mid-October.
"Sweat has two years left on his rookie deal and will cost the Jets just $1.6 and $2.1 million in each of those years, respectively," Walder wrote. "Sweat is also younger [Johnson is 27] and, in my view, has a better chance to be a plus contributor than Johnson. That makes this deal well worth it for New York, especially considering the Jets will get a player with another year of team control for less money."
