Getty Nick Sirianni of the Philadelphia Eagles.
The competition for the starting running back job seems to already have a clear-cut favorite. Three weeks prior to the start of training camp, it looks as if D’Andre Swift has done enough to earn top billing on the depth chart.
The Philadelphia Eagles haven’t yet named Swift the starter, and the team doesn’t usually release any kind of published depth chart until midway through camp, but the tea leaves are moving at the bottom of the tea cup.
Geoff Mosher of Inside the Birds thinks Swift will be a “breakout performer” in 2023, then he went on to add context to the prediction. Pencil Swift in for more than 1,200 yards from scrimmage and double-digit touchdowns, according to Mosher.
Acquired via trade with the Lions on Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft, Swift has already shown that he has Pro Bowl-caliber talent. He scored 10 touchdowns as a rookie. In Year 2, he eclipsed 1,000 yards from scrimmage. Last year, he averaged 5.5 yards per carry.
But behind the Eagles’ offensive line, and as expected leader of a committee, Swift will watch his stats and production soar in his fourth season. Pencil him in for more than 1,200 yards from scrimmage and double-digit touchdowns, at very least.
Do you plan to draft D’Andre Swift onto your fantasy football team in 2023?
Pro Football Focus Predicts Big Fantasy Season
If Swift does win the starting job — remember, he’ll have to win it outright from Rashaad Penny at camp — then he could be in for a monster year in fantasy football. The 24-year-old is a much more dynamic player than Miles Sanders who racked up 1,269 yards behind the Eagles’ vaunted offensive line.
Swift is lethal in space, especially as a receiver out of the backfield, and there are rumblings of how different the offense is going to look with him in it. Swift has averaged 68.3 targets per year, plus 1,198 total receiving yards, since coming into the league. NFL Network’s James Palmer said the Eagles are drooling over Swift’s potential:
Oh yea D’Andre Swift will have over 500 rec yards!! #Eagles
Ditto for Pro Football Focus. The analytics-based website had Swift ranked as the best running back coming out of the 2020 NFL Draft before he ran into injury and usage issues in Detroit. Assuming he can stay healthy, the former second-round pick projects as a top fantasy football option in Nick Sirianni’s high-octane offensive system:
“Swift tops the list of potential Eagles backs because he’s the only one who has a shot at being a three-down player,” wrote Nathan Jahnke. “You’re drafting a Philadelphia back for his ceiling, and Swift’s ceiling is the highest.”
Nick Sirianni Addresses Plan at Running Back
Head coach Nick Sirianni has never been one to answer depth chart questions — except when Miles Sanders was under attack — or spill the goods on anything related to “competitive advantage.” It’s not a smart way for anyone to do business.
D’Andre Swift has averaged 16.54 fantasy PPG when playing 50%+of the snaps through his career
He lands in Philly, his HOMETOWN, with a massive chip on his shoulder
Injuries have been frustrating. The talent is absolutely there. Dream landing spot.
However, Sirianni was quick to praise Swift’s ability to make defenders miss and accelerate through the hole when asked immediately after the draft-day trade. It sure sounds like the Philadelphia native is going to have a huge role in the passing game.
“I don’t know exactly how we’ll use him perfectly with each individual run, you have to get your hands on him to see that, but also in the passing game, I think he’s a dynamic playmaker that’s done some things that we’ve done with guys in the past, with some of the different routes that he runs,” Sirianni told reporters on April 29. “But he has a great ability to read defenses out of the backfield, to make guys — to separate from tight coverage out of the backfield, and has really good hands.”