D’Andre Swift is full of potential looking toward his third season, and no less an authority than Barry Sanders is on the bandwagon.
If Barry Sanders had played a few more seasons at the pace he was on, he’d be the NFL’s all-time rusher today (perhaps by a good distance). But he retired in 1999 after 10 seasons at age-31, and and sits fourth on the all-time rushing list (15,269 yards).
The Lions currently have a young budding star running back in D’Andre Swift. A shoulder injury stalled his momentum this past season, and he also missed some time as a rookie in 2020. To say nothing of not being used enough when he was healthy for a chunk of his rookie season. But he topped 1,000 yards from scrimmage in 13 games, or essentially 11 games, in 2021 and his potential is easily lauded.
Barry Sanders is on the D’Andre Swift bandwagon
Sanders is on the ground in Los Angeles this week for Super Bowl week. He did a Q&A with Tim Twentyman of the Lions’ website, and answered a couple questions about Swift.
What do you like the most about the way RB D’Andre Swift’s game is developing heading into his third season?
Sanders: “He’s shown he can make that next step. That he can jump from college to pro. He just finished his second year and I’ve seen some good things from him. It’ll be interesting to see if he develops into an every down kind of back. If you’re talking about those other pieces, if you can have a good, solid, stable passing game, what does that do for his ability to run? If you can make sure you have other threats around him, I think that could potentially help him even more.”
Can Swift be a 1,000-yard rushing back in this league?
Sanders: “I think so with his skillset. His speed. He seems to be pretty slippery and pretty strong for his size. Yeah.”
Swift has shown off his speed and elusiveness plenty over two seasons. But a moment from this past season showed he can run with plenty of power too.
In Week 5 he lowered his shoulder into Vikings cornerback Bashaud Breeland, apparently with retribution in mind, and won the “Angry Runs” segment on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football” for the week.
Next season is shaping up to be a pivotal one for Swift, and Sanders sees his potential. There has to be something to that, since the Hall of Famer is a bit of an authority on what a good running back looks like.