2026 NFL trade grades: Jermaine Johnson, T'Vondre Sweat - ESPN

NFL free agency begins March 9 with the legal negotiating window, but the action has already started. The Jets and Titans made the first big move of the offseason, with New York sending edge rusher Jermaine Johnson to Tennessee for defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat.

ESPN analytics writer Seth Walder is grading the biggest signings and trades of the offseason, putting each deal into perspective for teams and players. To determine each grade, Walder is evaluating moves based on multiple factors, including on-field impact, salary cap implications, compensation, player value/age, and the context of a team's short- and long-term outlooks. How large is the effect of this decision, and how sure are we it's a good or bad choice? How does this affect a team's chance to win the Super Bowl, this season or in the future?

Follow along as Walder evaluates and grades each move, with the most recent grades at the top. We'll start with the Johnson-Sweat swap.

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Jump to a notable deal:
Johnson-Sweat

Jets get: DT T'Vondre Sweat
Titans get: Edge Jermaine Johnson

Jets grade: A-
Titans grade: C-

For all their faults, the Jets came out of last year's trade deadline with two of the very best deals in that period. 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.

The last of the Jets' three 2022 first-round picks, Johnson put together one decent sack season in 2023, with 7.5 sacks en route to a Pro Bowl nod. That came while playing for current Titans head coach Robert Saleh, which I assume is a critical factor in why this deal was made.

But Johnson managed only 5.5 sacks over his other three