As if the Jets' Week 1 season opener at Tennessee didn't have enough obvious storylines, here comes another that touches on T'Vondre Sweat, the imposing defensive tackle the Green & White acquired in a trade from the Titans to swallow up opposing teams' run games.

Appearing on the CBS Sports podcast "Offseason Playbook," the host Leger Douzable, a former Jets D-lineman, talked with the Titans' veteran Jeffery Simmons who was stunned by the deal that sent Jermaine Johnson II to Tennessee with the Jets landing Sweat.

"It was a surprise to me," said Simmons, who has played all of his 7 years in the NFL with the Titans. "Just trying to get a feel for why. I feel like Sweat still has some potential that sometimes he doesn't understand. For me, that's the reason why I'm like 'Sweat, you're coming down to Dallas with me this offseason [to train].' I wanted to pull that out of him to be able to be like: 'I have so much potential. I can be the best nose tackle in football.' And he has the potential to do that. I hate it, but it's a business."

Sweat (6-4, 366) is nearing the start of his third season in the NFL after being selected by the Titans out of Texas in the second round (No. 38 overall) of the 2024 NFL Draft, signing a four-year contract. But now, with the Jets' former coach Robert Saleh in charge, Tennessee will use a four-man defensive front while HC Aaron Glenn has said he wants his defense to be more versatile -- at times be a 3-4 (perfect for Sweat at nose tackle) or a 4-3.

"He [Simmons] really feels like Sweat can be the best tackle in football," Douzable told senior reporter Eric Allen on a new edition of "The Official Jets Podcast." "When I was doing the interview I asked him what was your first reaction when T'Vondre got traded to the Jets and he said, 'Honestly, I got the call from him, and I thought he was playing around, and then once he found out he wasn't playing around, he hung up with him and called the GM [Mike Borgonzi] right away and said: What are we doing, right?' Because that's how highly he thinks of T'Vondre Sweat.

"Jeff understands the business of football, he understands there was going to be a schematic change, and that T'Vondre is going to a place where he could have more success based on the scheme he's going to play versus scheme he would play in a Robert Saleh's defense, so he understood that there was nothing he could do about it, and he's still going to stay in touch with him because he thinks that highly of him that he really can be a guy that can be dominant and be the best nose tackle in football."

Sweat, 24, started 12 games for the Titans last season and tallied 34 tackles and 2 sacks. As a rookie, he appeared in all 17 games, with 51 tackles, 4 TFL, a sack and a forced fumble/recovery. In his five seasons playing for the Longhorns, Sweat had 128 tackles, 17.5 TFL, 14 PD, 2 FR and 1 FF. In 2023, he won the Outland Trophy and was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Coming to the Jets, Sweat joins a revamped defensive front that has added edge rushers David Bailey, Joseph Ossai and Kingsley Enagbare, and defensive tackle David Onyemata. They join holdovers Harrison Phillips, Will McDonald IV and Jowon Briggs.

The Jets, especially Glenn (who will call plays on defense) and DC Brian Duker are counting on Sweat reaching his full potential.

"It's all about learning how to be a pro," Douzable said. "I know there were those question marks for T'Vondre coming out. Would he be a three-down player? How many reps could you get from him on the field?"

He added: "But I know he's [Sweat] looking forward to getting back to being the guy that he was, his rookie year, and now he'll be back in that system, similar to the system that he played in his rookie year, to be a dominant force in the middle of the defense. So being able to shadow a guy like Jeff Simmons, who was an All-Pro, and he shows you the ins and outs of what it takes, and he's giving you tricks of the trade. It can only benefit you as a young player. It's always great when veterans take young players under their wing."

So after beginning last season against Pittsburgh and a former QB in Aaron Rodgers, the schedule makers have set up the Jets for another interesting season opener and those multiple storylines.

"The NFL loves drama," Douzable said. "Now they get to face their former coach, but it's not just Robert Saleh in a quote/unquote 'revenge game' vs. the Jets. We just talked about a big man in the middle gets traded away. [CB] Jarvis Brownlee Jr., I don't know if you follow him on X, he's excited for Week 1. Remember, he got traded midway through the season last year. And then you talk about so many former Jets being on the Tennessee Titans, JFM [John Franklin-Myers], Solomon Thomas, Jacob Martin, Jermaine Johnson, Michael Carter.

"There will be a lot of juice in that game for both sides."