D'Andre Swift: Skilled but "soft"

[FantasyFreak]

Nice touch by Detroit Lions GM Brandon Holmes to get Swift in a good spot back home in Philly. Most wouldn't help a conference rival contender but shows class that he did right by the player instead of burying him on the bench.

Now as for expectations this has the looks of a two headed monster backfield. Penny & Swift should be a modern day version of the Panthers Deangelo Williams & Jon Stewart. Both could flirt with over 1000 combined yds and it remains to be seen how the TDs shake out. Or they could be the latest Jay Ajayi reclamation project.

Swift just never fit into the new culture and being a pick of the previous regime in Detroit I guess he had to go. Happens all the time when new front office / coach comes in. As a local Lions fan it never really came out what exactly Swift wasn't doing that they wouldn't dare give him the lead role. Sure when he is hurt & not dressed that irritated them. But even when healthy they would never have him in even when he was rolling.(avg over 5 yds per carry last year)

No excuses now so we will see if Lions misused him or they were right not to count on him.

Love the move but they weren’t doing Swift any favors. It just happened that way. Apparently Swift requested a trade almost immediately after they picked Gibbs and the Eagles were already aggressively attacking them for a move. Then they got more aggressive and offered enough to get them to budge. Regardless, it was a great move for his value. The best move here may be waiting for a big pop week or 2 that is probably pretty likely and seeing whose eyes light up again. If he shows well I think you’ll have some league mates fall right back in love.

Holmes was under no obligation to trade Swift. Ask Denzel Mims how that works ? Or a bunch of others.

Offered enough ??? A 4th rd pick not this year ... Not next year ... In 2025

Also you have to think it's essentially a 5th rd as the Eagles are set up to be contenders for the next few years. That's not a real aggressive move. Lions could've easily waited until end of camp or let him languish on the bench or as an inactive as insurance for injury to Montgomery(who has been hurt in past ). Probably get more immediate returns or better even by waiting to see what team might lose a RB during camp. Swift isn't a bum or bust. This was almost a giveaway.

Holmes could've done like most other GMs and waited. He got him to a good spot and early on enough so that Swift wouldn't be left out of his new team's plans on the last cuts before the season starts. Surely didn't need to trade him to a team the Lions most likely would have to face in the playoffs to advance to be a Super Bowl contender

Believe he did D'Andre a solid

Probably did his team a solid. He wasn't going to get much for him, considering he's a FA next year. He had little leverage after the Gibbs pick, so took anything he could get. RB's have so little value vs other positions, especially one with one year left on his contract. I think the reality is, it's the most he could get, and took something over nothing.

[cazzie33]

We have seen many players pout & demand a trade (most less talented than Swift) that teams keep around . There was no rush to get a 2025 4th rd pick . Most GMs would rather keep the talent rather than give it away for so little. Still on rookie contract so it wasn't like a salary dump either.

In this off season alone there were some RBs in the same situation that were kept around because they had talent rather than trading for a garbage pick in the draft (much less two years from now)

Guess Penny , Hunt , Sanders , and now Dalvin shoulda been traded for a bag of balls rather than letting them go for nothing(although there's a possibility of a compensatory pick if they get signed as a FA... not exactly sure how that works though) as options.

Pretty sure Swift wasn't happy about last year's usage but had no leverage. He had even less now. Lions could've done him dirty in his contract year and made him a healthy scratch. Keep him around in case of injury as relatively cheap insurance policy. Instead they made a clean break and did well by him in the process. Gotta believe a Buffalo or KC would've kicked the tires for a 2025 4th rd although have no proof. Swift got to go home in Philly which I'd guess has a bit to do with it

[Kurt G.O.A.T.]

a 2025 4th rounder doesn't look good until 2025 rolls around and you have an extra 4th rounder sitting there for you.

holmes came from the rams, who don't keep players they don't want on their team hanging around no matter the cap ramifications. sometimes a clean break is the way to go. i still remember the doom and gloom around the rams and their cap situation when they cut gurley and traded cooks yet 2 years later they won the superbowl.

[ericanadian]

We have seen many players pout & demand a trade (most less talented than Swift) that teams keep around . There was no rush to get a 2025 4th rd pick . Most GMs would rather keep the talent rather than give it away for so little. Still on rookie contract so it wasn't like a salary dump either.

In this off season alone there were some RBs in the same situation that were kept around because they had talent rather than trading for a garbage pick in the draft (much less two years from now)

Guess Penny , Hunt , Sanders , and now Dalvin shoulda been traded for a bag of balls rather than letting them go for nothing(although there's a possibility of a compensatory pick if they get signed as a FA... not exactly sure how that works though) as options.

Pretty sure Swift wasn't happy about last year's usage but had no leverage. He had even less now. Lions could've done him dirty in his contract year and made him a healthy scratch. Keep him around in case of injury as relatively cheap insurance policy. Instead they made a clean break and did well by him in the process. Gotta believe a Buffalo or KC would've kicked the tires for a 2025 4th rd although have no proof. Swift got to go home in Philly which I'd guess has a bit to do with it

Rookie contract, but I think he was still hitting them for just short of $2M, which is a lot for a 3rd string RB.

[Gazzerk]

Nice touch by Detroit Lions GM Brandon Holmes to get Swift in a good spot back home in Philly. Most wouldn't help a conference rival contender but shows class that he did right by the player instead of burying him on the bench.

Now as for expectations this has the looks of a two headed monster backfield. Penny & Swift should be a modern day version of the Panthers Deangelo Williams & Jon Stewart. Both could flirt with over 1000 combined yds and it remains to be seen how the TDs shake out. Or they could be the latest Jay Ajayi reclamation project.

Swift just never fit into the new culture and being a pick of the previous regime in Detroit I guess he had to go. Happens all the time when new front office / coach comes in. As a local Lions fan it never really came out what exactly Swift wasn't doing that they wouldn't dare give him the lead role. Sure when he is hurt & not dressed that irritated them. But even when healthy they would never have him in even when he was rolling.(avg over 5 yds per carry last year)

No excuses now so we will see if Lions misused him or they were right not to count on him.

Love the move but they weren’t doing Swift any favors. It just happened that way. Apparently Swift requested a trade almost immediately after they picked Gibbs and the Eagles were already aggressively attacking them for a move. Then they got more aggressive and offered enough to get them to budge. Regardless, it was a great move for his value. The best move here may be waiting for a big pop week or 2 that is probably pretty likely and seeing whose eyes light up again. If he shows well I think you’ll have some league mates fall right back in love.

Holmes was under no obligation to trade Swift. Ask Denzel Mims how that works ? Or a bunch of others.

Offered enough ??? A 4th rd pick not this year ... Not next year ... In 2025

Also you have to think it's essentially a 5th rd as the Eagles are set up to be contenders for the next few years. That's not a real aggressive move. Lions could've easily waited until end of camp or let him languish on the bench or as an inactive as insurance for injury to Montgomery(who has been hurt in past ). Probably get more immediate returns or better even by waiting to see what team might lose a RB during camp. Swift isn't a bum or bust. This was almost a giveaway.

Holmes could've done like most other GMs and waited. He got him to a good spot and early on enough so that Swift wouldn't be left out of his new team's plans on the last cuts before the season starts. Surely didn't need to trade him to a team the Lions most likely would have to face in the playoffs to advance to be a Super Bowl contender

Believe he did D'Andre a solid

Yeah no team is under any obligation to trade any player. It’s also pretty poor management to hold a guy prisoner that they’ve clearly moved on from within the building. Obviously teams do it but a smart GM will cash in on any kind of value they can. And an RB with only 1 year left in their rookie contract has very little trade value. A 4th rounder is actually a decent return. A lot of projections I saw before a trade was done expected it to be closer to a 5th to 7th rounder. Smart move to take whatever value they can instead of letting a guy rot out of spite. I agree that the move ended up being a benefit to Swift all around but I’m not sure that it was the Lion’s intent to help him out.

[cazzie33]

Don't believe me ... Here's straight from the man himself

" Holmes also compared the Swift move to the in-season T.J. Hockenson trade to the Minnesota Vikings in keeping a laser focus on the long-term situation, while trying to do right by the player on the way out.

“It’s my job to keep laser focus on the present. But probably more importantly, keep laser focus on the future,” Holmes said. “And that’s what went into a lot of the decisions with having to make the trade with D’Andre Swift to Philly. He was (entering) last year of his contract. And, you know, if I go back to last year, I felt really good about us being able to bring back Jamaal Williams. I felt confident as the season ended. I felt good with our conversations with his camp, and it didn’t happen. You have to just be prepared for all of those things.”

" The thing with Jahmyr Gibbs is, that’s the guy that we loved,” Holmes said. “But, again, having to keep that laser focus for the future, all those things become part of it. But also, we wanted to do the right thing for the player (Swift). That’s kinda how we do it. 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.

“Me and (Eagles general manager) Howie (Roseman), I got a lot of respect got Howie. We just kinda talked it over some few days, and we were just able to get it done.”

Classy guy !

[DLF3000]

Classy guy !

A rare few decent people in charge in the NFL?

Honestly though, I've heard GMs and coaches do this with trading players they like as people too - like BB and Jimmy G - so they're not all cold, filthy rich, heartless monsters all the time after all. Just most of them... most of the time.

[Cameron Giles]

I was shocked to see a deal come together so quickly. Usually, teams take players hostage.

Good for the Lions. Moves like this add up and go a long way to rehabilitating a franchise's image to players and agents. They could've easily just told him he's going nowhere and trotted him out for like 10% of the snaps.

[seahawks506]

Some puts and takes from the Eagles' post-trade comments

They're not looking to feature him, although I don't think that was anyone's expectation. Definitely will start out as a committee.

The hometown connection matters a lot. They know Swift really well and have liked him for a long time. That counts for a lot in my book. This is a very good fit.

“It wasn't in our mind a position that we were actively looking to upgrade, but at the same time, we're always looking for opportunities to improve the team,” Roseman said. “When this came about, we just felt really good about the player, we felt really good about the person, and it adds another tremendous player and person to our locker room. We feel like we really know who he is as a person, have a lot of connections with him.

“I know I've mentioned his name a lot, but again, (Eagles Senior Advisor to the General Manager/Chief Security Officer) Dom (DiSandro) has known him and his family for a long time. We knew him really throughout high school. He had been in the facility as a high schooler, so I had met him when he was in high school. It's kind of a cool story of a local kid comes home and obviously a talented local kid.”

[nathanq42]

I was shocked to see a deal come together so quickly. Usually, teams take players hostage.

Good for the Lions. Moves like this add up and go a long way to rehabilitating a franchise's image to players and agents. They could've easily just told him he's going nowhere and trotted him out for like 10% of the snaps.

When was the last time the chargers made a splash in FA? That has to be one of the most toxic management teams in the league and I feel like they never sign big names from outside in FA

[hockeyBjj]

What's his dynasty value now on the Eagles? Is it back up to a late 1st?

[FantasyFreak]

All the wishy washy stuff aside, the Lions don't want a guy moping around the facility, with the knowledge he's not wanted. They took something rather than nothing, and the Eagles will get a comp pick by letting Swift walk, if I am not mistaken, so they basically got him for free.

[kevrunner]

All the wishy washy stuff aside, the Lions don't want a guy moping around the facility, with the knowledge he's not wanted. They took something rather than nothing, and the Eagles will get a comp pick by letting Swift walk, if I am not mistaken, so they basically got him for free.

Getting a comp pick is not automatic. If Swift signs with a new team next year, it will depend on what Philly does in the free agent market. Here is a little bit from an article I read.

The way it works is, teams are eligible to receive 2024 compensatory draft picks for any unrestricted free agents signed by other teams in 2023. However, in order to get such picks, a team must lose more unrestricted free agents than it signs from other teams in a given free-agency period.

[WOATjohn]

What's his dynasty value now on the Eagles? Is it back up to a late 1st?

I just traded him for 1.10 and 25 2nd in a 1QB PPR league

[hockeyBjj]

What's his dynasty value now on the Eagles? Is it back up to a late 1st?

To answer my own question, apparently so and a bit more. Just traded him away off my rebuilder

Gave: Swift, 1.06
Got: 1.04 and 1.09

I like that quite a bit. I think that moves me from Flowers to Addison and I add a late first