Lions Must Keep Feeding D'Andre Swift
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If you didn't already know, D'Andre Swift made it abundantly clear on Sunday that he's the Lions' best offensive weapon.
The third-year running back stated during the offseason that he intended on rushing for 1,000 yards and accumulating another 1,000 as a pass-catcher during the 2022 season.
It's a highly ambitious goal for the Georgia product, as only three backs in NFL history have accomplished the feat -- Roger Craig in 1985, Marshall Faulk in 1999 and Christian McCaffrey, most recently, in 2019.
Swift got off to a good start Sunday, in Detroit's season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The 5-foot-9, 211-pounder rushed for a game-high 144 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, and added another 31 yards as a receiver out of the backfield.
It was a career-best rushing performance from the dual-threat back, whom Duce Staley, Swift's position coach with the Lions, has labeled as being a "special" talent.
"I need Swift to know he’s the best when he steps on the (expletive) field,” Staley said earlier this summer, during a "Hard Knocks" episode. “I need him to know that when he’s one-on-one, it doesn’t matter whether he’s running a route or has the ball in his hands. No one can guard him or tackle him.
“I want him to go to Dan (Campbell) at halftime and say, ‘Coach, I want the ball.’ And he got it. It’s in there. Boy’s special, and with everything going on between those lines, he got to believe that. And, I’m going to try my hardest to get that (expletive) out of him -- ain’t gonna try, I’m going to (expletive) get it out of him. Because he can be so special.”
Swift showed just how special he can be on the Lions' opening drive. On the second play of the game, he took a handoff from quarterback Jared Goff, and carried it 50 yards into Eagles territory. He rushed for a total of 61 yards on the drive, and helped set up Detroit's first score of the game.
The dynamic back also rushed for a 7-yard score toward the end of the first half, which helped cut Philadelphia's lead at the time to one touchdown, 21-14.
Kirthmon F. Dozier, USA TODAY Sports
Swift had a lot clicking for him on Sunday, which he credited to the performance of the guys up front and Detroit's receivers blocking for him.
"Execution up front was phenomenal. Receiver blocking down the field was phenomenal,” Swift told reporters after the game. “It made my job easy."
Amon-Ra St. Brown and T.J. Hockenson, specifically, provided Swift with some solid downfield blocks throughout the course of Sunday’s contest.
“Once I get through the front line, the O-line handle their job and receivers handle their job, then it’s up to me to make (defenders) miss. I feel like I left a lot out there, as well. I’ve got to be better for the guys,” Swift added.
He surely evaded Eagles defenders, and made them miss in the Lions' regular season opener.
Swift is an integral piece of the team's offensive attack, and should be treated as such on a weekly basis moving forward.
Even though he put up some great numbers in the Week 1 tilt, he wasn't featured enough by Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
The third-year pro, who averaged an astounding 9.6 yards per carry vs. the Eagles, should've received more than 15 carries, and also should've definitely been utilized more as a pass-catcher.
I believe this to especially be the case, looking at Goff's early-game struggles with his receivers. The timing clearly was off between Goff and offseason acquisition DJ Chark, as well as Chark's receiving counterparts, to start the contest. This is when Swift could've been deployed more as a receiver out of the backfield.
"It’s the little stuff," Swift said, when asked about the potential of the offense. "Like I said, can’t spot them seven (points). Can’t play from behind, coming out of the half. It’s the little stuff. Got to get back to work."
He's Detroit's biggest offensive playmaker, and Johnson needs to act like he is and utilize him more often, whether it be as a runner or as a receiver, moving forward.
It's the only way in which Detroit will be able to achieve its most optimal results as an offensive unit in 2022.
