Getty Adrian Peterson on the field before Lions vs. Washington.
The Detroit Lions have one of the best young running backs in football in D’Andre Swift, but it’s taken them some time to figure it out and give him the ball consistently.
Adrian Peterson, who’s in the same running back room and helping to serve as a mentor to Swift, admitted he’s seen this type of explosion coming from the youngster for. a long time. He sees that so much so that he told the coaching staff they should have been cutting Swift loose long ago.
Adrian Peterson said when he was told Swift would start last week he told the coaches, you should have done this two or three weeks ago.
Before anyone flips out about the commentary, though, it’s important to remember that Peterson could have simply been contemplating the fact that Swift is very good rather than taking a shot at the team’s coaching staff for not using him sooner.
Regardless, it’s good to see that Peterson understands what everyone else does about Swift. He’s been an elite player in the short amount of time the Lions have had him in the fold.
Lions Hinted Expanded Role for D’Andre Swift
It’s true Swift should be getting more love running the ball. Every time Swift has been given the reins in a more public way, he has subsequently delivered on the field with solid play. It happened against Jacksonville a few weeks back, and once again it happened in Week 10 against Washington. In those games, Swift has looked like a star and has arguably carried the offense at times.
Now, it looks like Darrell Bevell might finally have had the uncomfortable conversation with Adrian Peterson that was long expected and anticipated amid Swift’s emergence. The hint? Swift could be the team’s go to guy in the backfield for the foreseeable future.
Fantasy GMs: Didn’t catch the words initially, but Lions OC Darrell Bevell on talking w/Adrian Peterson about what role he/D’Andre Swift played vs. WFT: “It was important for us to talk to Adrian & understand the role that they’re going to play from now on.” Note the last 3 words
This isn’t to discount the role Peterson has played in Swift’s rapid development whatsoever. It’s been nice to have a veteran player behind Swift to give him the motivation, push and example in order to be great. It’s also good to have Peterson in the mix for depth just in case there is an injury or other type of problem.
Nobody doubts that Swift now deserves the majority of touches, though, and it’s nice to see the Lions and their staff finally coming to this realization themselves. If Peterson had his way, it may have played out weeks ago.
D’Andre Swift’s Development on Hold
Swift’s big time role in Detroit will have to go on hold right now, however. This week, he has shown up on the team’s injury report as having a concussion and he might not be able to make a quick comeback for the Lions whatsoever. He was ruled out for Sunday’s game with the concussion which is bad news for the team’s rushing attack considering how good it’s been with Swift driving the bus thus far.
Moving forward, the Lions will have to make sure that Swift gets as many touches as he can for his long term development. That will be huge for the Lions, which is something that Peterson would no doubt agree with moving forward.
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