Detroit Lions Raving About D'Andre Swift's Receiving Skills

Former Georgia running back, D'Andre Swift has left the folks in Detroit raving about his receiving skills already just a few days into training camp.

D'Andre Swift was always a multi-talented running back during his years at Georgia. Though he wasn't always used as a threat out of the backfield during his three years in Athens. 

In the NFL, there's a need for running backs to be used in a much more versatile role. The Lions selected Swift with the No. 36 overall selection of the 2020 NFL Draft despite having Kerryon Johnson already in their running back room. 

Johnson and Swift could not be any different in their styles of play, and that diversity of style has been on display already in training camp with the folks in Detroit raving about Swift's route-running ability out of the backfield: 

Swift spoke to the media Tuesday about the way he was used during his time in Athens: 

"I think I could have been used more at Georgia in the pass game. I just think we found ourselves in just ways to win a game, so we just kind of handed off the ball and went the grinding way a little bit. That's something I definitely want to perfect at this level of football, being used in different amount of ways."

Swift isn't exactly wrong. He had just 73 receptions in college and averaged over 9.0 yards per reception every year for the Bulldogs. He was essentially a walking first down when thrown the ball out of the backfield. 

Swift has already seen action with the first offense during training camp and is expected to play a big role for the Detroit Lions as a rookie. 

"I always took pride in anything getting out of the backfield, playing mismatches against linebackers and just get into open space, making people miss and running crisp routes and catching the ball. It's kind of always something I like to do."

There are expectations that the Lions could use the former Georgia running back in the same role that the New Orleans Saints use Alvin Kamara. He's not going to be depended upon to take the Lions share — pun very much intended — of the carries in Detroit but they will find creative ways to find mismatches for him on the edge early on in his tenure with the Lions. 

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