I don’t understand the D’Andre Swift trade. I don’t understand why the Lions would be willing to give him away. And I don’t understand why other teams weren’t more interested in getting in on the action.
The initial move, I think, was driven by availability. Swift missed time with injuries in all three of his seasons in Detroit. There was probably some frustration with him not being able or willing to play.
But he sure was effective when he was on the field. Three times in the last two years, he had games with over 130 rushing yards. And he creates mismatches as a pass catcher. With him having a base salary of only $1.7 million, you would think the Lions would want to keep that around, even if in a backup role.
Detroit used its first-round pick on Jahmyr Gibbs. Is he better than Swift? He ran a tenth faster at the combine, but he weighs only 200 pounds. Swift (who is listed at 212) was more productive in college and has shown some ability to be effective at the pro level. With the Lions having already signed another running back, I would have thought they’d be better off by keeping Swift and using that 12th pick on another position.
Furthermore, I don’t understand the price tag. The Lions got in return essentially a fourth-round pick, but not in this year’s draft or even next year’s – they won’t get that fourth-round pick until 2025. If that was Philadelphia’s best offense, why aren’t any number of other teams getting in on the action (giving up just a little bit more)?
The Eagles look like the big winners. They got themselves a nice back at only $1.7 million, and they’ve got him in a contract year. That may help prod Swift to play through some of the injuries that have sidelined him in the past.
Earlier in the offseason, Philadelphia signed Rashaad Penny for about $1 million, giving them another high-upside back who’s had injury problems. With both of these backs, if they stay healthy for even half the season, they’ll be great acquisitions. They don’t need to stay healthy for 12-plus games for these to be great moves.
With the Eagles also having Kenneth Gainwell coming back, I don’t think they’ll miss Miles Sanders much at all.
Among running backs with at least 50 carries last year, only two averaged at least 5.5 yards per carry. The Eagles are the only team with two of them.
| RUNNING BACKS, YARDS PER CARRY | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD |
| Rashaad Penny, Sea. | 57 | 346 | 6.1 | 2 |
| Breece Hall, NYJ | 80 | 463 | 5.8 | 4 |
| James Cook, Buff. | 89 | 507 | 5.7 | 2 |
| Khalil Herbert, Chi. | 129 | 731 | 5.7 | 4 |
| J.K. Dobbins, Balt. | 92 | 520 | 5.7 | 2 |
| D'Andre Swift, Det. | 99 | 542 | 5.5 | 5 |
| Aaron Jones, G.B. | 213 | 1,121 | 5.3 | 2 |
| Tony Pollard, Dall. | 193 | 1,007 | 5.2 | 9 |
| Travis Etienne, Jac. | 220 | 1,125 | 5.1 | 5 |
| Nick Chubb, Cle. | 302 | 1,525 | 5.0 | 12 |
| Gus Edwards, Balt. | 87 | 433 | 5.0 | 3 |
| Rhamondre Stevenson, N.E. | 210 | 1,040 | 5.0 | 5 |
| Tyler Allgeier, Atl. | 210 | 1,035 | 4.9 | 3 |
| Raheem Mostert, Mia. | 181 | 891 | 4.9 | 3 |
| Jaylen Warren, Pitt. | 77 | 379 | 4.9 | 1 |
| Chuba Hubbard, Car. | 95 | 466 | 4.9 | 2 |
| Zack Moss, Buff.-Ind. | 93 | 456 | 4.9 | 1 |
| Miles Sanders, Phil. | 259 | 1,269 | 4.9 | 11 |
| Jeff Wilson, S.F.-Mia. | 176 | 860 | 4.9 | 5 |
| Isiah Pacheco, K.C. | 170 | 830 | 4.9 | 5 |
| Josh Jacobs, L.V. | 340 | 1,653 | 4.9 | 12 |
| Cordarrelle Patterson, Atl. | 144 | 695 | 4.8 | 8 |
| Caleb Huntley, Atl. | 76 | 366 | 4.8 | 1 |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car.-S.F. | 244 | 1,139 | 4.7 | 8 |
| Devin Singletary, Buff. | 177 | 819 | 4.6 | 5 |
| Kenneth Walker, Sea. | 228 | 1,050 | 4.6 | 9 |
| Kenneth Gainwell, Phil. | 53 | 240 | 4.5 | 4 |
| D'Onta Foreman, Car. | 203 | 914 | 4.5 | 5 |
| Austin Ekeler, LAC | 204 | 915 | 4.5 | 13 |
| Jonathan Taylor, Ind. | 192 | 861 | 4.5 | 4 |
—Ian Allan