Eagles have familiar weapon in D'Andre Swift
While most of the city is losing their collective minds over Kelly Green uniforms, the Philadelphia Eagles are working on an even better throwback for 2023: a pass-catching running back.
During the 2022 NFL Draft, Philadelphia traded a fourth and seventh-round pick to Detroit for running back D’Andre Swift. In 40 games with the Lions, Swift had nearly as many receiving yards (1,198) as rushing yards (1,680), and if reports coming out of Eagles training camp are accurate, Swift can expect more yards through the air this season.
Philadelphia hasn’t thrown much to their running backs in recent years. Kenneth Gainwell led the Eagles' running backs each of the last two seasons with 23 receptions in 2022 and 33 catches in 2021. By comparison, the 49ers Christian McCaffrey had 85 catches last season and the Bengals’ Joe Mixon had 60.
No one expects Swift to become McCaffrey or Mixon next year, but one insider is already comparing him to a trio of Eagles legends. While appearing on "The Thomas Mott Show," Eagles insider Dave Spadaro referred to Swift as Brian Westbrook/Darren Sproles/LeSean McCoy.
While it should be noted that Spadaro works for the team, those names should be music to the ears of Eagles fans. Back in 2007, Westbrook led all NFL running backs with 90 catches and 771 yards. Sproles had 147 catches for the team from 2014-2016 and McCoy averaged 50 catches per year in six seasons with the Eagles.
Now Swift seems poised to follow in their footsteps. He had 156 catches in three years with Detroit and is seeing lots of passes in practice. Here’s what Adam Kaplan of Pro Football Network had to say after the team’s first week of practice:
Swift made several outstanding catches last week, but none better than one on Sunday where he beat the defender far downfield but appeared to slip or trip, yet was able to still catch the ball when on the ground. With Swift now in tow, it’s hard to imagine that Hurts won’t find a way to get him the ball. He’s that good with the ball in his hands.
Despite missing three games and sharing the backfield with Jamaal Williams, Swift still had 46 catches last year. As long as he stays healthy, it’s easy to imagine the Eagle’s newest running back catching over 40 passes in 2023, just like the old days.
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