The Philadelphia Eagles‘ RB situation is one of the biggest unknowns heading into the 2023 fantasy football season. Can RB D’Andre Swift emerge as the lead RB in this high-powered offense? Let’s take a closer look.
Behind in research? Get a trade offer in your dynasty or redraft league? Not sure who to start or sit this week? Leverage PFN’s FREE fantasy tools — our Fantasy Football Draft Kit, Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer and Calculator, and Start/Sit Optimizer! Put the finishing touch on your A+ draft with 1 of our 425+ fantasy football team names.
D’Andre Swift’s Fantasy Outlook for the 2023 NFL Season
The Eagles have an open competition going on for the vacant lead RB role with the departure of Miles Sanders.
#Eagles Training Camp Stats 2023, Running Backs:
** This was easily the most confusing group to learn something about based off the numbers. I'd be careful to use these numbers for fantasy football projections.
** Gainwell was Cleary RB1 in touches — but are they really going… pic.twitter.com/Zx1ZxhfsnC
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks)
These are training camp reps, but how many first-team reps Kenneth Gainwell has received shouldn’t be overlooked.
Swift was a very frustrating fantasy asset for managers last season. On one hand, Swift was still good enough to finish as the RB21 in PPR formats last season but saw his rushing workload significantly reduced in favor of Jamaal Williams … who scored 17 rushing TDs in 2022.
The fact Swift saw a career-low 99 carries despite averaging a career-high 5.5 yards per carry (YPC), while Jamaal Williams saw 163 more carries on lower efficiency (4.1 YPC) tortured Swift managers all season long.
So, could it be concerning that Swift hasn’t established himself as the leading man in this backfield? Perhaps.
Does this mean he is slated to play behind Gainwell in a complementary role? Absolutely not.
What this information should tell us is that we simply don’t know enough yet to accurately project how the team plans to distribute the vacated 259 carries from Sanders last season.
One thing that does show up in this snap-share report is Swift’s pass-catching ability.
Swift has never caught fewer than 46 passes in a season. No other RB in the backfield has caught more than 33 passes in a season.
Of all the RBs currently on the roster, Swift appears to have the inside track to the pass-catching role, easily making him the best RB to invest in on draft day out of this backfield.
Is Swift a Good Fantasy Pick?
Allow me to paint a picture for you. If Swift maintains his pass-catching floor and sees an uptick in carries as the leading man in this backfield, which would put him somewhere between 200-225 total touches, a top-10 finish at the RB position is well within the range of outcomes.
You should also consider this possibility…
As I mentioned before, Sanders finished as the RB15 in PPR formats last year with 279 total touches. Swift finished as the RB21 with 132 fewer touches.
If Swift sees the same type of workload Sanders got last year in this very backfield, he has top-five potential at the position, which gives you league-winning-type upside.
On the flip side, there is some risk of Gainwell being the leading man in this backfield. In a vacuum, do I believe Gainwell is a better player than Swift? No, I don’t.
However, the coaching staff giving Gainwell this many reps with the first-team offense really shouldn’t be completely dismissed.
MORE: 2023 Fantasy Football RB Rankings
I still believe Swift is the best RB on the roster and will be hard to get off the field if he continues to be highly efficient with his carries and a dynamic pass-catching threat out of the backfield.
There is some risk involved with his current draft-day price, but his upside as a top-10 fantasy RB makes him a risk I’m willing to take in the sixth round of fantasy drafts.
- PFN Consensus: 64th overall
- ADP: 68th overall
