Wes Schweitzer

Weston Robert Schweitzer (born September 11, 1993) is an American football offensive guard for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at San Jose State and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Schweitzer has also been a member of the Washington Football Team / Commanders.

Wes Schweitzer
refer to caption
Schweitzer with the Washington Football Team in 2021
No. 71 – New York Jets
Position:Offensive guard
Personal information
Born: (1993-09-11) September 11, 1993
Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:300 lb (136 kg)
Career information
High school:Chaparral (Scottsdale)
College:San Jose State
NFL Draft:2016 / Round: 6 / Pick: 195
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • Second-team All-MW (2015)
Career NFL statistics as of 2022
Games played:80
Games started:60
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early life

Schweitzer was born on September 11, 1993, in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he graduated from Chaparral High School in 2011.[1] Schweitzer also was a wrestler in high school in addition to playing football, where he joined the starting line up as a sophomore and helped win more than three consecutive state championships. Schweitzer originally planned on joining the U.S. Marines after high school until he began receiving athletic scholarship offers.[2]

College career

As a two-star recruit, Schweitzer committed to San Jose State in 2011 over offers from Air Force, Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico, and Utah State.[3] He redshirted his true freshman season in 2011 and played in seven games in 2012.[1] In 2013, under new head coach Ron Caragher, Schweitzer started all 12 games at left tackle and helped the offense set a school record average 493.2 yards per game. The offensive line also gave up one sack per 23.6 pass attempts, and the yards per rush improved by 0.5 from the previous season.[1] Schweitzer started all 25 games in the 2014 and 2015 seasons, including San Jose State's victory in the 2015 Cure Bowl.[1] As a senior in 2015, Schweitzer was elected team captain and earned second-team All-MW honors.[1]

A chemistry major, Schweitzer graduated in 2016.[4] In 2013 and 2014, Schweitzer was an atmospheric chemistry research intern at the San Jose State University College of Science.[1] Schweitzer won four academic all-conference honors and was named to the 2016 National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society.[1]

Professional career
Schweitzer (#71) during practice with the Atlanta Falcons, 2016

Atlanta Falcons
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 4 in
(1.93 m)		 300 lb
(136 kg)		 32+5⁄8 in
(0.83 m)		 10+1⁄2 in
(0.27 m)		5.15 s1.75 s2.97 s4.73 s7.80 s27.5 in
(0.70 m)		9 ft 0 in
(2.74 m)		28 reps
All values from Pro Day[5]

Schweitzer was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round (195th overall) in the 2016 NFL Draft.[6] Schweitzer signed a four-year contract with the Falcons on May 5.[7] Schweitzer was named the Falcons' starting right guard to start the 2017 season, and ended up starting all 16 games.[8] In 2018, Schweitzer was demoted to swing guard and backup center to start the season after losing the starting right guard spot to Brandon Fusco.[9] He was named the starting left guard in Week 3 following a season-ending injury to Andy Levitre, and started 13 games there.

Washington Football Team / Commanders

On March 24, 2020, Schweitzer signed with the Washington Football Team, then known as the Redskins prior to a name change later that offseason.[10] From Week 3 through 5, Schweitzer filled in as the starting right guard after Brandon Scherff suffered a injury in the Week 2 game against the Arizona Cardinals. Starting Week 7 against the Dallas Cowboys, Schweitzer was made the starting left guard due to the poor performance of Wes Martin and Saahdiq Charles being placed on injured reserve.[11][12] He played all 16 games of the regular season, starting 13 (three at right guard and ten at left guard).

Schweitzer (#71) playing against the New Orleans Saints in 2021.

Schweitzer filled in for an injured Scherff as the starting right guard from Week 5 through 8 of the 2021 season. In the Week 11 win over the Carolina Panthers, he took over at center after Tyler Larsen left the game due to injury.[13] The following week, Schweitzer started at center against the Seattle Seahawks but left the game after suffering an ankle injury and was subsequently placed on injured reserve.[14][15] Schweitzer was placed on injured reserve on October 1, 2022.[16] He was activated on December 3.[17]

New York Jets

On March 16, 2023, Schweitzer signed a two-year contract with the New York Jets.[18]

Personal life

Schweitzer is a fan of rock climbing. He originally picked up the hobby as a way to condition his arms during his time with the Falcons.[19]

References
  1. "Wes Schweitzer". San Jose State. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  2. Ledbetter, D. Orlando (May 17, 2016). "Falcons offseason spotlight: Wes Schweitzer". AJC.com. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  3. "Wes Schweitzer Rivals Profile".
  4. McClure, Vaughn (June 2, 2016). "Wes Schweitzer has sights set on spot with Falcons -- and Ph.D. in chemistry". ESPN. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  5. "Wes Schweitzer, San Jose State, OT, 2016 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  6. "Falcons Select OL Schweitzer in Sixth Round". Atlanta Falcons. April 30, 2016. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  7. "Falcons First-team to Sign Entire Draft Class". AtlantaFalcons.com. May 5, 2016. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017.
  8. Conway, Kelsey (September 4, 2017). "Falcons Coach Dan Quinn Names Wes Schweitzer Starting Right Guard". AtlantaFalcons.com. Archived from the original on November 6, 2017.
  9. "Falcons name Brandon Fusco the starting right guard". AJC.com. August 28, 2018.
  10. "Redskins Sign CB Kendall Fuller, Wes Schweitzer". Redskins.com. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  11. Walker, Rhiannon (November 2, 2020). "Other than QB, what are some substitutions WFT needs, or needed, to make?". The Athletic. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  12. Stackpole, Kyle; Selby, Zach (December 16, 2020). "Assessing Washington's Free Agent Signings". WashingtonFootball.com. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  13. Tyler, Mark (November 22, 2021). "Washington Football Team Vs. Carolina Panthers - Studs and Duds". HogsHaven.com. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  14. Keim, John (November 30, 2021). "Washington Football Team places K Joey Slye on IR because of hamstring injury, signs Brian Johnson". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  15. Washington Football Team Public Relations (December 11, 2021). "Washington places Wes Schweitzer on Injured Reserve amid multiple roster moves". WashingtonFootball.com. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  16. Washington Commanders Public Relations (October 1, 2022). "Commanders place Wes Schweitzer on Injured Reserve, elevate Wes Martin". Commanders.com. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  17. Washington Commanders Public Relations (December 3, 2022). "Commanders activate Wes Schweitzer, elevate Alex Erickson". Commanders.com. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  18. Greenberg, Ethan (March 16, 2023). "Jets Sign OL Wes Schweitzer". NewYorkJets.com. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  19. Clarke, Owen (July 18, 2022). "Meet the 330-pound NFL Lineman Addicted to Rock Climbing". Climbing.com. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
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