Eagles D’Andre
Swift rushed for a personal-best 1,049 yards in 2023 behind
the Eagles’ highly-rated offensive line. After missing games in
each of his first three seasons in Detroit, Swift played all 16
games in Philadelphia. But after an explosive beginning to his season,
his production dropped off precipitously. He rushed for 175 yards
in Week 2 and 130 yards in Week 3 and never broke 100 yards again.
He only saw 20-or-more rushes twice all season. Still, he rushed
for a solid 4.6 ypc and finished 24th in full PPR leagues at 12.6
FPts/G.
He also wasn’t used in the passing game as much as he had been
in Detroit, partially because of the presence of backup running
back Kenneth
Gainwell and the Eagles refusal to feature backs in this area.
(That will likely change in 2024 now that the Eagles have agreed
to terms with former New York Giant Saquon
Barkley). The Eagles tried to keep Swift’s workload under
control and it worked – he played every game last season, but
it cost fantasy owners who liked what they saw over the first
few games.
Swift in Chicago
The Bears’ offensive line was average-at-best when healthy
in 2023, which wasn’t often. But they could be marked for
improvement with 2023 first-round pick Darnell Wright continuing
to grow and perhaps the team using its second first-round pick
(No.9) on a lineman like Joe Alt from Notre Dame or Olumuyiwa
Fashanu from Penn State (after choosing Caleb Williams No.1 overall).
Swift won’t be the only running back to carry the ball
in Chicago. Both Khalil Herbert (132-611-2) and Roschon Johnson
(81-352-2) averaged at least 4.3 ypc for the Bears last season. Herbert can be an unrestricted free agent after 2024 and Johnson
is signed through 2026. However, based on the size of the deal
Swift signed (three years for $24M), he figures to be the starter
and get the majority of the work as long as he stays healthy.
Johnson should play the “big back” role at 225 lbs.
and I’m afraid Herbert may be the odd man out or traded
somewhere else.
Bottom line
Swift leaves one mobile quarterback for another (Williams can
run as well as pass), but he may get a few more opportunities
to score than he did in Philadelphia (where Jalen Hurts was a
goal-line hog). Unfortunately, that advantage will be more than
offset by a weaker OL in front of him and fewer big holes to run
through.
I would think Swift’s fantasy production will fall slightly
in 2024, leaving him as a low-end RB2 for your fantasy team. Think
210-882-6 and 40-240-1 for 194.2 fantasy points which would have
ranked 24th in 2023.
