Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman bolstered his team’s running backs group on Saturday, as he acquired D’Andre Swift from the Detroit Lions. The Lions traded Swift and a seventh-round pick to the Eagles in exchange for a pair of draft picks.
In the big picture, Roseman sees much potential in what Swift can accomplish in his upcoming run with the reigning NFC champions.
“He’s got big-play ability as a runner and a receiver,” Roseman said during ESPN’s broadcast of Day 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft. “We saw it first-hand when we were in Detroit the first game of the season.”
As Roseman touched on, Swift orchestrated quite a performance in the Lions’ Week 1 defeat to the Eagles last season. The former Georgia standout tallied 144 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown against Philadelphia. He also showed off his versatility as a running back in the contest, hauling in three receptions for 31 receiving yards.
Roseman added that while the Eagles did not enter this year’s NFL Draft in dire need of reinforcements at the running back position, he opted to pull off this trade for multiple reasons.
“We liked our running backs, we didn't go into the draft feeling like this was a position we had to have,” Roseman said. “We felt like this player was somebody who could really add to our culture and add to our team.”
Swift featured in 40 regular season games while with the Lions, where he recorded 2,878 yards from scrimmage and 25 total touchdowns. His future in Detroit was up in the air after general manager Brad Holmes hauled in Jahmyr Gibbs via the No. 12 overall pick in this year's NFL Draft, and in the end, the team felt that it was best to part ways with its second-round selection from the 2020 NFL Draft.
Overall, Philadelphia now has a total of six running backs on its roster.
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