Why not D'Andre Swift?

[Jigga94]

I got a little bit of heat for saying the Lions need to "unleash" Swift in the weekly thread last week. I didn't mean that they needed to give him 30 carries up the middle, but instead prioritize him as a playmaker and stop waiting for negative game script to do it.

I watched the game and the Lions struggled moving the ball until they started getting Swift involved as a playmaker. They were looking for him on passing downs, playing more two-back sets, moving him around the formation, and getting him in space. He was making guys miss and opening up the playbook for the Lions. Their WR talent stinks, so it's weird that they take so long to start getting Swift going.

Swift continues to pass the eye test in a big way. He's so explosive with the ball in his hands and a damn good receiver. I think the only thing that dropped him in rookie drafts was that he went to the Lions.

I was saying the same thing during the game yesterday. I believe it was right before the half I said it again to a lions buddy of mine and then Swift had 3 straight touches haha the RB duo they have is solid and they would be very smart to rely on the ground game imo

[FantasyFreak]

This is THE year for him IMO. He'll likely never get the target share he's getting now again. Team is behind a lot, and has zero WR talent. Lions will add talent there. He's in for a top 8 season at worst if he stays healthy. Not a great runner, but can do it all. I liked him coming out of Georgia, and discounted him due to the team he went to, to my detriment.

[MEuRaH]

I got a little bit of heat for saying the Lions need to "unleash" Swift in the weekly thread last week.

I rated Swift over JT last year pre-draft and post-draft, and made a thread about how JT was over-rated and Swift/Dobbins should be rated higher. The wave of hatred lasted for weeks/months.

Feels good now. I'm still upset at Matt Patricia for playing AP ahead of him. Even AP said either in a game or practice that Swift should be the starter and get the majority of the carries, and Patricia still didn't listen.

Boooo Patricia! Booo! You had Stafford and Swift on your roster and you wasted them both!

Good to see Swift performing well.

[FantasyFreak]

I got a little bit of heat for saying the Lions need to "unleash" Swift in the weekly thread last week.

I rated Swift over JT last year pre-draft and post-draft, and made a thread about how JT was over-rated and Swift/Dobbins should be rated higher. The wave of hatred lasted for weeks/months.

Feels good now. I'm still upset at Matt Patricia for playing AP ahead of him. Even AP said either in a game or practice that Swift should be the starter and get the majority of the carries, and Patricia still didn't listen.

Boooo Patricia! Booo! You had Stafford and Swift on your roster and you wasted them both!

Good to see Swift performing well.

I think Williams is going to possibly out carry him, but that doesn't matter. For this year, with the lack of receiving talent, Swift is out there with Williams at times. The receiving game is where he's a difference maker, and the situation this year is a perfect storm for targets.

[timeEd32]

I thought before the season started there was a chance of him being the dynasty RB1 (and probably overall dynasty #1) at the end of the season if the stars aligned. I think it's at least in play, pending the health of CMC and Barkley and JT's usage.

[nathanq42]

I thought before the season started there was a chance of him being the dynasty RB1 (and probably overall dynasty #1) at the end of the season if the stars aligned. I think it's at least in play, pending the health of CMC and Barkley and JT's usage.

As an owner I dont think it's in the cards honestly. The only game he has played without missing time in the lead up is week 1. And his workload hasnt been massive either. CMC is #1 with volume *and* efficiency, the guy is a legit 1k1k candidate every year (obviously heath is starting to catch up to him, but still). Kamara had *insane* efficiency, he doesnt consistently get the CMC volume, but for a long time it felt like Kamara would put up two TDs or get 15 targets. Swift has neither the ability to shoulder the volume required, nor the offensive efficiency to put up those kinds of numbers consistently IMO.

I would peg swift closer to Ekeler/Woodhead. Could always possibly put up top 5 PPR point on any given year, but I would expect him to be in the top 8-15 range most years

[ArrylT]

Well after three weeks the question of whether Jamaal Williams would hurt D'Andre Swift or vice versa seems to be neither.

IE D'Andre Swift is an RB1 in spite of Jamaal Williams and Jamaal Williams is an RB1 in spite of D'Andre Swift. Much like last year in Cleveland where both Chubb & Hunt finished as RB1s.

Anyways atm 4 of the top 12 RBs come from Cleveland & Detroit.

However just remember it is only 3 games and a small sample size - here are some RBs outside of the top 12

Barkley
CEH
Taylor
Gibson
Cook

Kamara is 1.1 point away from being RB13

The difference between RB12 and RB24 is closer than that of RB1 Henry and RB2 Aaron Jones.

[timeEd32]

I thought before the season started there was a chance of him being the dynasty RB1 (and probably overall dynasty #1) at the end of the season if the stars aligned. I think it's at least in play, pending the health of CMC and Barkley and JT's usage.

As an owner I dont think it's in the cards honestly. The only game he has played without missing time in the lead up is week 1. And his workload hasnt been massive either. CMC is #1 with volume *and* efficiency, the guy is a legit 1k1k candidate every year (obviously heath is starting to catch up to him, but still). Kamara had *insane* efficiency, he doesnt consistently get the CMC volume, but for a long time it felt like Kamara would put up two TDs or get 15 targets. Swift has neither the ability to shoulder the volume required, nor the offensive efficiency to put up those kinds of numbers consistently IMO.

I would peg swift closer to Ekeler/Woodhead. Could always possibly put up top 5 PPR point on any given year, but I would expect him to be in the top 8-15 range most years

I'm not saying Swift will finish as the RB1. I'm saying he could be valued as the dynasty RB1. We have a long way to go, but is this scenario not at least in play:

- Swift finishes ~top 5 on the year
- CMC misses more than just 2-3 weeks with this injury
- Saquon never fully looks like Saquon (for a variety of reasons)
- JT's usage is weird and he's not in the top 10
- The rest of the top 5 or so is some mix of Henry, Chubb, Ekeler, Zeke, and Jones

To me, if he finishes in the top 10 this season he's going to be a top 5 dynasty asset in the offseason for sure. Whether you think he deserves to be or not will be a different discussion and if you don't then he's likely going to be a big sell candidate.

[Mike11]

I thought before the season started there was a chance of him being the dynasty RB1 (and probably overall dynasty #1) at the end of the season if the stars aligned. I think it's at least in play, pending the health of CMC and Barkley and JT's usage.

As an owner I dont think it's in the cards honestly. The only game he has played without missing time in the lead up is week 1. And his workload hasnt been massive either. CMC is #1 with volume *and* efficiency, the guy is a legit 1k1k candidate every year (obviously heath is starting to catch up to him, but still). Kamara had *insane* efficiency, he doesnt consistently get the CMC volume, but for a long time it felt like Kamara would put up two TDs or get 15 targets. Swift has neither the ability to shoulder the volume required, nor the offensive efficiency to put up those kinds of numbers consistently IMO.

I would peg swift closer to Ekeler/Woodhead. Could always possibly put up top 5 PPR point on any given year, but I would expect him to be in the top 8-15 range most years

I'm not saying Swift will finish as the RB1. I'm saying he could be valued as the dynasty RB1. We have a long way to go, but is this scenario not at least in play:

- Swift finishes ~top 5 on the year
- CMC misses more than just 2-3 weeks with this injury
- Saquon never fully looks like Saquon (for a variety of reasons)
- JT's usage is weird and he's not in the top 10
- The rest of the top 5 or so is some mix of Henry, Chubb, Ekeler, Zeke, and Jones

To me, if he finishes in the top 10 this season he's going to be a top 5 dynasty asset in the offseason for sure. Whether you think he deserves to be or not will be a different discussion and if you don't then he's likely going to be a big sell candidate.

This feels like overthinking it, if you have that asset why would you be looking to sell him?

[timeEd32]

I'm not looking to sell him. I don't agree at all that he doesn't have the ability to take on more volume or be ruthlessly efficient in the passing game.

I was just responding to the post above which was suggesting that he shouldn't be valued as highly as he's on track to be, in which case he should get ready to sell.

BTW, as of today's latest rankings he is DTC's #2 dynasty RB and #6 overall. It's already happening...

[FantasyFreak]

I'm not looking to sell him. I don't agree at all that he doesn't have the ability to take on more volume or be ruthlessly efficient in the passing game.

I was just responding to the post above which was suggesting that he shouldn't be valued as highly as he's on track to be, in which case he should get ready to sell.

BTW, as of today's latest rankings he is DTC's #2 dynasty RB and #6 overall. It's already happening...

Not a fan of DTC or of drastically changing rankings off a small sample size, but I do think this will be Swift's career year. I don't ever see the target share lining up for him like this again, with absolutely nobody at the WR position, and a team that will always be trailing. If you're a contender, no way you should be moving him. It's like Kamara early on. He doesn't need a ton of carries, and it's actually detrimental to him, because he's getting so many touches in the passing game. This is the type of usage everyone should want for their RB's. 12-14 carries and 6-7 receptions a game. It lends to big scoring and the player staying on the field.

[dynastyninja]

I seem to always go for the Georgia running backs. I'd like to think I viewed him as the most talented RB from his class near the end, but I was really high on JT for a while.

Regardless, he looks great and should be in-line for valuable receptions without a crazy rushing workload (as Freak said). I fought the Kamara comp for a while because I think it's overused like AB was, but it seems to make a lot of sense now.

[cazzie33]

I seem to always go for the Georgia running backs. I'd like to think I viewed him as the most talented RB from his class near the end, but I was really high on JT for a while.

Regardless, he looks great and should be in-line for valuable receptions without a crazy rushing workload (as Freak said). I fought the Kamara comp for a while because I think it's overused like AB was, but it seems to make a lot of sense now.

Been saying that as my comp going into draft and actually liked him coming to the Lions. Bad defense , ascending offensive line , Stafford great in garbage time ... Then Patricia & the braintrust get AP and totally go away from what Swift does best. Then 1st game Swift drops game winning TD on like the last play of the game so into the doghouse he goes

Campbell said almost immediately he wanted to get him in space and use Swift in passing game. hmmm, Campbell came directly from NO and who does that sound like ? Nothing Swift's done other than a propensity for being dinged up has dissuaded me from thinking he can be Kamara 2.0 (minus having a Brees accuracy QB for hitting him in stride on routes downfield) That's a huge drawback but Goff is accurate enough to get Swift in RB1 stratosphere

[Mike11]

He has to be ahead of the 2020 RB tier he was in to star the year, right? With Dobbins and Akers out for the year, CEH and Gibson underperforming (and JT a bit) I'd think he's in tier 1 with JT at this point from that class.

I sort of saw there being a big five for dynasty RBs in terms of their overall tier at the start of the year: CMC, JT, Dalvin, Saquon and Kamara in some order. I think he should either be immediately after them at 6 or in that conversation now, keeping in mind he's 4 years younger than Cook and Kamara, 3 years younger than CMC and 2 younger than Saquon and same age as JT.

[Jigga94]

He has to be ahead of the 2020 RB tier he was in to star the year, right? With Dobbins and Akers out for the year, CEH and Gibson underperforming (and JT a bit) I'd think he's in tier 1 with JT at this point from that class.

I sort of saw there being a big five for dynasty RBs in terms of their overall tier at the start of the year: CMC, JT, Dalvin, Saquon and Kamara in some order. I think he should either be immediately after them at 6 or in that conversation now, keeping in mind he's 4 years younger than Cook and Kamara, 3 years younger than CMC and 2 younger than Saquon and same age as JT.

I'd really have no issue if he was someone's RB1 due to age and talent. He's not mine, but he's a very good RB. I agree he's probably solidified a spot in the top 5 dynasty RB. Especially going into next year when the ages you mention will be under scrutiny all offseason