The Eagles left days one and two of the NFL Draft as huge winners and made big improvements on the defensive side of the ball. After drafting Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Sydney Brown, and offensive guard Tyler Steen, the Eagles didn’t have many needs left.
My personal opinion was that they needed to find a weapon for Jalen Hurts that can help make his life easier. Although they have a loaded running back room with Rashaad Penny, Kenny Gainwell, Boston Scott, and Trey Sermon, Philly made a bold move and traded for that missing piece that they needed.
On Saturday afternoon, it was reported by Ian Rapoport that the Lions had agreed to trade RB D’Andre Swift to the Eagles for a 2025 4th-round pick and a 7th-round pick this year.
That move alone added massive firepower to this offense. After losing Miles Sanders to the Panthers, the Eagles were able to find his replacement and will only be paying him a little bit above $1 million for this season.
Swift is a huge home run threat. His acceleration after he hits the hole is remarkable. He has very quick feet and is a great decision-maker when the ball is in his hands. The issue with Miles throughout his time here was his inability to make quick decisions. He bounced around too much behind the offensive line which stalled the offense at times.
Swift is the complete opposite. He hits the hole with purpose and his speed quickly picks up when he hits the second level of the defense. He’s nimble enough to break tackles and can distribute his weight balance in his favor. Whether it’s a spin move or a quick juke, Swift just keeps on moving and fighting for more yards.
He has yet to have that true breakout season in his three-year career with the Lions. Part of it has to do with the nagging injuries that he has dealt with in the last three seasons. He’s only managed to start 16 games in that span but he has played in 40 of them.
Even so, Swift is averaging 4.6 yards per carry throughout this career so far. Last season was one of his more efficient seasons so far as he ran for 542 rushing yards on 99 attempts which led to him averaging 5.5 yards per carry. His highest rushing yards total in a season is 617 which came in 2021.
Huge win for the Eagles?
The one thing that led to this Eagles in making this trade happen is the fact that Swift is a multi-threat running back. He can make an impact on the ground and in the air. He’s had more than 300 yards receiving in all of the last three years with 489 receiving yards in 2021.
While he isn’t another Darren Sproles, Swift gives Hurts another home run threat in the passing game. With how the Eagles run their offense, I would expect to take advantage of Swift in the passing game as much as possible. He can help neutralize the linebackers and make something happen out of nothing.
This won’t be said so much due to the health concerns of D’andre Swift but the fourth-year pro is going to be a huge difference-maker for an Eagles offense that is already loaded with talent. This a huge win for Philadelphia and another loss for the league this weekend.
Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire
