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With Gibbs, Montgomery In Detroit, Swift Traded To Eagles
As Profootballtalk.com framed it, "The Eagles have acquired another former Georgia Bulldog.

"But this time, they didn’t draft him."

Philadelphia has traded for running back D'Andre Swift, according to multiple reports.

The Eagles and Lions will swap seventh-round picks and Philadelphia will send Detroit a 2025 fourth-round pick to complete the deal.

As PFT's Myles Simmons suggests, Swift had clearly fallen out of favor with the Lions, as the club had signed David Montgomery in free agency and drafted Jahmyr Gibbs out of Alabama in the first round on Thursday night.

Now Swift heads to the defending NFC East champs, who are replacing Miles Sanders (signed as a free agent by the Carolina Panthers) production.

As NFL.com's Kevin Patra points out, Eagles GM Howie Roseman adds another cheap option to the backfield with explosive upside if everything clicks. Swift is due to make $1.77 million in the final year of his rookie contract.

Beyond that, the Eagles added oft-injured former first-round pick Rashaad Penny on a cheap one-year deal this offseason. The Eagles also have slasher Kenneth Gainwell, veteran Boston Scott, former Niners third-rounder Trey Sermon and undrafted Kennedy Brooks.

Patra contends that adding Swift and Penny this offseason -- after grabbing Sermon previously -- Roseman's plan appears to be to accumulate former high picks with good pedigree who have had trouble staying healthy. The home-run upside is there behind a great offensive line for Penny or Swift to realize their potential in 2023.

At the very least, a committee in Philly could help keep them healthier for a long season.

It's not great news for fantasy managers looking to invest in the Eagles' backfield.

A first-round draft pick in 2018, Penny has shown some flashes of that first-round talent, averaging more than six yards per carry in each of the last two seasons. But he struggles to stay healthy and has played in just 42 games in his NFL career.

Swift has been at or around 1,000 yards from scrimmage in each of his first three seasons.

Last year, he had 931 yards on 147 touches with eight touchdowns in 14 games. He tallied 542 yards rushing with five TDs and 48 catches for 389 yards with three TDs.

A second-round pick in 2020, Swift was not drafted by the current regime led by Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell and is entering the last year of his rookie deal.

Meanwhile, though the pick was surprising, ESPN.com's Eric Woodyard reports the Lions valued Gibbs' character and all-around production in college, where he finished with over 2,100 rushing yards and 1,200 receiving yards while scoring 23 total touchdowns after splitting time at Georgia Tech (2020-21) and Alabama (2022).

Lions general manager Brad Holmes said he identified Gibbs as one of his handful of "favorite" players in the draft after thorough evaluation. Holmes also admitted to laughing at some mock drafts that projected Gibbs to fall in the 50s because he is confident that Gibbs can contribute right away to the Lions.

Gibbs' explosiveness as a weapon in the run game and as a pass-catcher is what intrigued Holmes to pick him at No. 12 because he doesn't view Gibbs as just a running back.

"We've kind of put Jahmyr in his own separate box and just got really excited about the player," Holmes said.

Gibbs is the highest-selected running back drafted in Detroit since Hall of Famer Barry Sanders in 1989. This also marks the second consecutive year that the Lions front office has selected an Alabama player at No. 12, after jumping up 20 spots for wide receiver Jameson Williams at the same spot in 2022.

"I really didn't put the two 12's together, but obviously that's one of the most respected programs in college football," Holmes said. "I've got a ton of respect for Coach [Nick] Saban and what he does down there, and you kind of know what kind of product and what kind of football player he's putting out. So it just happened to be that [Gibbs] was one our top players that we really, really liked and just glad that we were in the position to get him."

Montgomery will be a factor, but with Swift out of the picture, Gibbs' value rises and he'll likely move into the top four rounds of most fantasy drafts.