The Philadelphia Eagles are determined to not just be another flash-in-the pan, Super Bowl runner-up. They are doing everything in their power to settle their unfinished business from last season and set the franchise up for long-term success. That mission entails a lot of deft maneuvering and NFL Draft-day hysteria.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman already flaunted his championship mindset by selecting three Georgia Bulldogs over the first two days of the draft. But you can't have enough Dawgs on your roster, so he also swooped in to make a trade for Detroit Lions running back D'Andre Swift on Saturday during the fourth round.
The price for the former First-Team All-SEC talent was a 2025 fourth-round pick (also swapped 2023 seventh-rounders). The news shook the NFL world, but in reality the respective trajectories of Detroit and Philadelphia were headed this way for the last day-and-a-half. Although Swift started just eight games last season, this move has significant implications for both teams.
Now that we, and hopefully Howie Roseman, have caught our breath let's stamp some grades on this trade report card for this Eagles-Lions NFL Draft deal for D'Andre Swift.
Eagles: A+
Until we know what that fourth-round pick becomes- and that won't happen for two years-, I see no downside to the Eagles trading for Swift. In the meantime, they get a 24-year-old dual-threat back to play behind last season's No. 1 ranked offensive line in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. This is a quintessential low-risk, high-reward move that should only bother Alabama alumni who can't bare to see any more Bulldogs line up for the Eagles.
The time for Swift to ascend to the upper echelon of the league may have passed due to some durability concerns, but he is coming to the place where Miles Sanders just rushed for 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns. Sanders cashed in on that career year and inked a four-year, $25 million contract with the Carolina Panthers. Swift will be a free agent after this upcoming season and will look to do the same by taking full advantage of his new favorable situation.
He totaled over 1,000 scrimmage yards in 2021-22 and had 5.5 yards per carry last season in a limited role behind touchdown machine Jamaal Williams. He just needs more opportunities to really tap into the star potential that electrified fans at Georgia and at times in Detroit. Even with Rashaad Penny joining Philly this offseason, Swift should at least get plenty of work as a pass-catcher.
Perhaps a backfield for fantasy football owners to avoid, but one that could help the reigning NFC Champions get right back to the Super Bowl. Swift may be merely a consolation prize for fans clamoring for Bijan Robinson, but high-level talent for an unknown asset and $1.7 million is the type of big-picture mindset this city has to appreciate.
Lions: B-
It is very difficult to grade the Lions on the D'Andre Swift trade. On one hand, parting with Swift for a mid-round pick who could eventually become a valued starter when you already have a crowded backfield seems like a solid way to maximize return value. However, the prior decision-making by executive vice president and general manager Brad Holmes forced this move to be made.
It could work out in a big way and further round out what is becoming a trendy sleeper pick to make the NFC title game in 2024. Or, Detroit might have gotten a tad carried away and lost sight of what their top priorities should be. Judging by my grade, you can see I am leaning toward the latter.
The team traded down to No. 12 for Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs, an explosive talent who can reinforce the Lions' identity as a rushing powerhouse. At that spot, though, with David Montgomery already being signed in free agency and Swift still on the team, there was other premium talent to be had.
This is not a Lions NFL Draft grade, but the context of that pick will inevitably enter into this equation. Of those three backs, Gibbs has the highest ceiling right now, but Montgomery was not handed a three-year, $18 million contract ($11 million guaranteed) to play second fiddle. He figures to get a good chunk of carries.
Selecting a top defensive prospect while holding onto Swift for even just one year could have been a more prudent course of action to take with the team's contender stock rising so rapidly. But by grading the trade for what it was, the Lions did land a fourth-rounder for a non-bell cow running back. Although Swift was an early second-rounder with first-round value in 2020, no one can expect sizable returns based on the position and recent circumstances.
So, Detroit probably did as well as could be expected after their unconventional NFL Draft. But D'Andre Swift's ceiling is still high enough that such a gamble could blow up in the franchise's face.
The Lions went bold this weekend, and in this case, they will get docked for it.
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