LIONS TRADE D’ANDRE SWIFT TO THE EAGLES AFTER DRAFTING ALABAMA’S JAHMYR GIBBS IN ROUND ONE
The Detroit Lions were an interesting topic of conversation throughout the 2023 NFL Draft. Not only did their selections raise some eyebrows, but they also capped their weekend off with a blockbuster trade that saw coming.
The Lions traded starting running back D’Andre Swift and their seventh-round pick (No. 249) to the Philadelphia Eagles on day three in exchange for the Eagles’ seventh round pick (No. 219) and their fourth-round pick in 2025. An interesting turn of events on Saturday, which saw the Lions trade away one of their most talented players, albeit one who has largely underperformed since landing in Detroit.
Detroit used their premium picks on day one on a running back and an inside linebacker, selecting Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs at 12th overall and Iowa’s Jack Campbell at 18. The Lions traded back earlier in the first, switching places with the Arizona Cardinals who had previously moved down themselves via a trade with the Houston Texans. Arizona then moved back up in the top 10 to get one of the draft’s best offensive line prospects in Paris Johnson Jr.
Holding the sixth pick and the 18th overall pick ahead of the draft, many believed the Lions would use both picks to fill some glaring holes in their roster on draft day by selecting a defensive back, defensive tackle or edge rusher. Instead, Lions’ general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell elected to zig when everyone zagged.
Gibbs was the second-rated running back on many teams’ draft boards after Texas’ Bijan Robinson – who went 8th overall to the Atlanta Falcons – and was thought to be a potential late first-round or an early second-round pick. The 21-year-old, named Second-team All-SEC last year, had an outstanding 2022 season in Alabama rushing for 926 yards, 7 touchdowns and catching 44 passes out of the backfield for 444 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns.
Thought by many to be a possible number 2 running back in his first year in the league, Gibbs will now lead the Lions running back room in his rookie year, pairing up with fifth-year back David Montgomery whom Detroit acquired via a trade with the Chicago Bears last year.
As for Swift, the 2020 second-round pick is now off to Pennsylvania and will have a chance to be an integral piece of one of the league’s best offenses. Born in Philadelphia and an alumni of Saint Joseph’s Prep, a high school in the city, the move is a homecoming for the former Georgia Bulldog, who is set to enter free agency after the 2023 season.
“We want to do the right thing for the player and that’s kind of how we do it,” said Lions GM Brad Holmes on Saturday. “But I think at the end of the day, him being able to go back to his hometown on a really, really good team that was just in the Super Bowl, I think it was a win-win for all parties involved.”
The move is a relatively low risk, high reward trade for Philadelphia as Swift is entering the final year of his contract with a $1.77M base salary. If he leaves following the season, the Eagles would likely receive a compensatory draft pick in 2025, which is essentially what they gave up to acquire Swift in the first place.
Just twelve days after Philadelphia extended quarterback Jalen Hurts, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman added another weapon for Hurts to use in both the run and passing game.
The two-time PFWA Executive of the Year remarked “He’s got big-play ability as a runner and a receiver. We saw it firsthand when we were in Detroit the first game of the season [in 2022]… We liked our running backs. We didn’t go into the draft feeling like this was the position we had to have, but we felt like this player was somebody who could really add to our culture and add to our team.”
Swift is a Swiss army knife and can be used in multiple ways, including the run game, pass, as well as pass protection. The 24-year-old has never had a year under 350 receiving yards in his first three seasons in the league and was always thought to be limited by the scheme in Detroit.
With a running back room that now includes Rashaad Penny, Boston Scott, Kenneth Gainwell, Trey Sermon, and D’Andre Swift, the Eagles have a chance of being the scariest running attack in the league. Especially with dual threat Jalen Hurts at quarterback.
Swift is now the sixth player on the Eagles roster who went to the University of Georgia, after the club selected cornerback Kelee Ringo, rookie defensive end Nolan Smith, defensive tackle Jalen Carter, and second-year players defensive tackle Jordan Davis and linebacker Nakobe Dean. The Bulldog acquisition in Philadelphia is a testimony to the Eagles’ belief in Georgia’s program, a program that has now won back-to-back national championships and boasts of some of the best athletes in the country.
While Detroit’s moves this week were definitely out of the ordinary, one cannot but be excited about what the front office is building up in the Motor City. The Lions had a winning season in 2022 for the first time since 2017 and just narrowly missed the postseason last year. With the addition of 8 players via the draft that the team really likes, fans are optimistic that GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell are more than aware of the team’s needs and improved the roster the best way they thought possible this week.
For now, the Lions will tackle undrafted free agency and will try to add to the team before rookie minicamp rolls around next month. While this week was definitely interesting for Lions fans, only time will tell if the Lions gambles pay off.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.