Why Pick One? D'Andre Swift and Philadelphia Eagles' O-Line Fuel Impressive Running Game
TAMPA - The chicken met the egg when the Philadelphia Eagles traded for D’Andre Swift on Day 3 of the NFL Draft back in April.
A talented back who never lived up to his college reputation in Detroit, Swift returned to his hometown with the kind of fanfare backs who’ve topped out at 617 rushing yards over their first three professional seasons don’t typically generate.
Part of it was the local angle and Swift’s high-profile stint at St. Joe’s Prep, a high-school powerhouse in the Philadelphia area, not to mention his college career at the Eagles’ developmental program of Georgia, and the fact Swift had his best game as a pro against Philadelphia in Week 1 of the 2022 season while still with the Lions.
For a provincial fan base, the latter carried real weight with the assumption that’s how Swift always looked in Detroit.
Through three games (and really the past two because Swift barely played in the opener at New England) in 2023 Swift has looked like that guy.
Swift already lapped his career-best game in Week 2 against Minnesota and arguably did it again on Monday night in a dominating 25-11 win over Tampa against a far superior run defense.
After the Week 1 no-show against the Pats, a door opened due to a Kenny Gainwell rib injury and Swift burst through it with 175 yards against the Vikings before following that up with 130 on 16 carries against a Todd Bowles' defense that is the best in the business when it comes to stopping things on the ground.
With 308 rushing yards already, Swift is at half of his career-best season in two games of real playing time at 6.8 yards-per-clip.
Some have pointed out that Swift is often pushing through holes he could share with an 18-wheeler.
It’s fair to point out that the Eagles have the best offensive line in the league while also noticing that Swift gets more out of those spaces than anyone else in recent years.
“They make it easy,” Swift said of the O-Line. “Just going through my keys pre-snap and then trusting my eyes – they make it easy, though.”
So is the success Swift’s chicken or the egg that has been the foundation of this organization for years?
How about both?
“[He is] super elusive,” coach Nick Sirianni said of Swift. “... He’s explosive, he’s tough – he’s really had a nice start to the season.”
D'Andre Swift is turning into one of the most explosive backs in the NFL.
© Nathan Ray Seebeck, USA TODAY
The line, however, has a years-long reputation of demonstrated performance and it looks as if Landon Dickerson is morphing from Pro Bowl selection to All-Pro threat in his third season, while second-year stalwart Cam Jurgens has stepped in without missing a beat.
“For a long time here, this Philadelphia Eagles offensive line, we’ve been able to lean on. For all my three years before that…It’s a special group of guys headlined by Jason [Kelce] and Lane [Johnson] who have been here for 13 and 11 years, I mean that’s unheard of,” said Sirianni. “And then ‘Stout’ [Offensive Line Coach Jeff Stoutland] does a great job at getting the guys ready.”
Some will pick and choose who is most responsible for the success but the Eagles' rest assured that they have both parts of the equation.
