After the Lions drafted Jahmyr Gibbs in the first round, the writing appeared on the wall for D’Andre Swift. Two days later, Detroit will part ways with its 2020 second-round pick.
The fourth-year back is headed to the Eagles in a Saturday swap, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. While this is yet another Georgia alum coming to the Eagles, Swift is a Philadelphia native.
The Eagles are sending the Lions No. 219 this year and a 2025 fourth-rounder, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. In exchange, Detroit will send No. 249 this year to Philly, Schefter adds (on Twitter). Swift is tied to just a $1.77MM 2023 base salary.
Pre-draft reports connected the Eagles to Bijan Robinson, but after the Texas running back went to the Falcons at No. 8, the Eagles traded up one spot to select Jalen Carter. In a Georgia-filled weekend for the defending NFC champions, they will acquire a contract-year running back. Swift joins Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott and free agent signing Rashaad Penny on Philly’s roster. Swift’s camp had spoken to the Lions about a scenery change.
It should be expected the Eagles’ Miles Sanders replacement effort is complete via this trade and the Penny addition. While Swift has dealt with some injury issues, he represents a much safer bet than Penny, who is coming off yet another major malady. Swift has missed 10 games in three seasons but showed flashes as a dual-threat option during his three-year Detroit stay.
Swift has 25 career touchdowns, posted 1,069 scrimmage yards in 14 games in 2021 and averaged 5.5 yards per carry last season. However, the Lions primarily used Jamaal Williams as their 2022 ball carrier. Swift only received 99 totes last season. This course change caused Swift to voice frustration about his reduced role. The Lions have since signed David Montgomery to a three-year, $18MM deal and drafted Gibbs, who will complement the ex-Bears back and work as a receiving threat.
Swift, 24, battled ankle trouble last season, a shoulder problem in 2021 and missed two games because of a concussion in 2020. He also ripped off back-to-back 130-plus-yard rushing games in 2021, raising his profile. The Eagles, who have featured top-shelf rushing attacks in each of the past two years, will see if they can coax quality production from the former No. 35 overall pick. Swift will join former high school teammate Olamide Zaccheaus as offseason Eagles additions.
Philadelphia Bulldogs
this weekend has just been amazing for the Eagles! in Howie I trust
Another “great” trade by Holmes! What a walking/talking dumpster fire he’s become. OMG
Man, you’re really disappointed with every aspect of Holmes’ draft this year. Maybe you should send him an email to let him know how you are more qualified to make draft day decisions than he is and how you should be brought on board for 2024’s draft to right the ship that you believe he is sinking.
I will admit, I was disappointed with Gibbs at 12, but once I decompressed, I understood his motivation. Holmes is one the most respected FO guys in the league with track record and an eye for finding talent. Maybe you should stop listening to Kiper. McShay, and others and trust Holmes.
Thanks for writing what I’ve been thinking. Did they “overdraft” those first 2 picks? Maybe, but who the heck am I? If their nfl comps hold true, this draft is a major success. Trading Swift for a 4th is a good get for both teams…Swift is one more injury away from being worth nothing!
Yep you’re right as my honeymoon w Holmes is over…ended when he sent those 3 picks to draft Broderic In Round 3 when we likely could have signed him as a UDFA. He’s come down w “Quinn Syndrome” and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Lions win fewer games in 23 than they did in 22 and both Holmes and Campbell out of their jobs in 2 years. Face reality this regime is not getting the Lions to the Super Bowl, wait and watch
Foolish sentiment. You my friend, are in the minority. Just keep living in your perpetual existence of SOL. Things are changing for the better in Motown. No more smartest guy in the room and no more good old boy’s network. These guys are professionals, doing all the right things. Maybe they stumble this year, but maybe they don’t. Overall, this organization is moving in the right direction and don’t care if you’re on board or not.
Pundits said the exact same thing when he wasted a 6th round pick on a guy everyone classified as a UDFA. Of course all that guy, James Houston, did was rack up 8 sacks in 7 games. Holmes has consistently shown he can draft talent others don’t recognize.
I don’t get your beef with Holmes. He filled virtually every need the Lions had through the draft and free-agency. The fact he was able to get a 4th for an injury-prone Swift is pretty amazing in my opinion.
JayHeck is one of those guys who sticks to positional value and believes you should never deviate. Holmes had 7 picks last year. 6 of the 7 contributed and 7th, Chase Lucas, is on his way. The 2021 draft produced 7 guys, all still on the team and contributing in some fashion. Compare that to previous FO’s or any other team’s FO for that matter. The future is bright and right guy is at the helm, no matter what JayHeck says or thinks.
I normally agree with Jay’s opinions, but not this one. You can’t get too hung up on perceived draft values. Holmes is trying to win games, not the draft.
Plus, I saw a tweet where they rearranged the Lions’ picks based on their perceived draft values. For instance, Branch at 12, Gibbs at 18, Campbell at 68 or whatever pick that was. Also, I don’t think there was any chance Martin, a 6’5, 330 lb. nose tackle, goes undrafted.
Say there’s a player you’re targeting but his value falls below your pick number. You’ve tried to make deal and were not able to get one done. Or, you know one or two teams behind you are looking & willing to select that same player even though it’s considered a “reach.” You’ve done all your homework and know this player meets all your selection criteria and is a perfect fit for the scheme & locker room. Do you pass on the player because you’re worried about the public ridicule from Kiper, fans, and all of the other know it all’s? Or do you do what you know is right for the team and pull the trigger. If you worry about public perception and blow back in that situation you’re never going to win.
This is getting comical with the Eagles collecting Georgia guys. That said, Swift is a great pickup for a 4th rd pick. IMO he is a better pure runner than Miles Sanders was and he’s just 24 yo. Plus he’s from Philadelphia.
I don’t like trading a 4th round pick for Swift, but when healthy, he’s better than Miles Sanders ever wished.
No, he’s not. Just stop the coping.
100%. The Chiefs had 10 picks. Giving one of them, 4th or later, for Swifts talent seemed logical to me.
Swift could be a beast in KCs offense with his dual-threat abilities.
It would have been like McKinnon 2.0, with less strait line speed, but with better vision, Swift is better at following his blocks, and he is faster than McKinnon getting in and out of his cuts.
Honestly, I was hoping the 49ers could have paired him with CMC, Elijah Mitchell, and Jordan Mason, especially with the 49ers seemingly being cursed with injury issues lol, but I’m sure Swift is happier with his career coming full circle and back to Philly where he will certainly get more touches..
I thought the Eagles would be a logical fit yesterday after not taking a RB.
As a lifelong lions fan, I’ll say I’m disappointed about Swift leaving but he like alot of recently former Lions RBs who just couldn’t consistently stay on the field. Good luck in Philly
At least we dont have to get excited about him only to have him get hurt again. Year after year same thing.
I’m sad to see him go too, but not only could he not stay on the field, he never quite developed into the dynamic runner the Lions thought he would be.
This was my problem with the Gibbs pick. I can’t really process the impact of Swift’s injuries, but you basically using the #12 pick to upgrade from Swift to Gibbs plus a low #4 pick. If (the big if) Swift stays healthy, he is a decent bet to out-perform Gibbs.
Speculation and opinion based on staying healthy.
Gibbs is big improvement over Swift on health alone. If you’re not in the lineup, you provide no value. Gibbs is also a more dynamic player than Swift. Gibbs probably equal or better in the run game. The difference in my mind is that Gibbs was ranked the #1 pass catching running back in the draft. Swift has had a lot of drops. His first game in a Lions uniform, he dropped the game winning touchdown.
A lot depends on how the Eagles will use Swift. He’s missed 3 games per year in the league for various injuries. This has resulted in an average of ~175 touches over 13.33 games. If he gets a shared workload like he had with Williams in 2022, he has a better chance of reducing injury risk. If he is meant to be a 300 touch player, it may not go well.
The Eagles don’t give RBs 300 touches. So Swift doesn’t have to worry about getting run down like that. Hell probably get 12 carries per game if he’s lucky, especially if Penny plays any amount of time during the season.
The entire Philadelphia fan base and drenched make me want to vomit.