Getty Image / Mitchell Leff
Over the course of the past 72 hours, the Philadelphia Eagles have been doing their best to recreate the Georgia Bulldogs’ defenses from the past couple of years.
They entered the NFL Draft having already selected Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean last season.
Over the first 4 round of the draft, they’ve added Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, and Kelly Ringo to their defense.
Now they’ve decided not to limit themselves to just Bulldogs on the defensive side of the ball.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, the Eagles have completed a deal with the Detroit Lions to acquire former Bulldogs running back D’Andre Swift.
The #Lions are trading starting RB D'Andre Swift, sources tell me and @TomPelissero, sending him to the #Eagles in exchange for draft pick compensation. With David Montgomery and now first-rounder Jahmyr Gibbs, Swift heads out. pic.twitter.com/gyUBnUuVCY
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 29, 2023
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the deal will send a 4th round pick to the Lions in 2025 and the two teams will swap 7th rounders, moving the Lions up 30 spots.
Trade terms, per source:
🏈Eagles get: RB D’Andre Swift and 7th round pick (No. 249)
🏈Lions get: a fourth-round pick in 2025, and seventh-round pick (No. 219).
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 29, 2023
Swift entered the league with plenty of hype after a very successful career at Georgia. The Lions made him the 35th pick 3 years ago, but it was a pick that never really panned out for them.
Swift was productive, but never turned into the bell cow back the Lions would have been hoping for and he was actually overtaken by Jamaal Williams on the depth chart last season.
With the Lions bringing in David Montgomery in free agency and spending the 12th pick on Jahmyr Gibbs, it seemed like only a matter of time until Swift was traded.
He couldn’t have asked for a much better situation to end up in.
He’ll be competing with Rashaad Penny and Kenneth Gainwell for touches on a team that just won the NFC last season.
There should be plenty of touches available for Swift in this offense with Miles Sanders vacating 259 carries and 26 targets.
D’Andre Swift’s career hasn’t played out the way fans had hoped it would so far, but this move to the Philadelphia Eagles could be what he needs to finally turn into a true RB1.