It’s that time of year once again! Football Absurdity will bring you a breakdown of every notable fantasy football-relevant player throughout June, July, and August. We finished our quarterbacks already; that means it’s time to get to the most frustrating position! That’s right, we’re on to the running backs. Today we take a look at a second-year running back whose evaluation is all over the board. Should we worry about Jamaal Williams so much? Should we worry about Anthony Lynn running his gob so much? Let’s take a look at D’Andre Swift’s 2021!
D’Andre Swift ADP & AAV:
Average Draft Position (HPPR): RB17, Pick 30
Average Auction Value: $29.1 (RB18)
D’Andre Swift Statistics:
| Year | G | GS | Rush | Ru Yds | Ru TD | Tgt | Rec | Yards | TD | Touches | Opp | Total Yards |
| 2020 | 15 | 1 | 134 | 805 | 9 | 24 | 18 | 120 | 0 | 152 | 158 | 925 |
| Year | YPC | Rush/G | Ru Yd/G | Tgt/G | Rec/G | Catch% | Yds/Tgt | Yds/Rec | Touches/G | Opp/G | Yds/G |
| 2020 | 4.57 | 8.8 | 40.1 | 4.38 | 3.54 | 80.7% | 6.26 | 7.76 | 12.31 | 13.15 | 67.54 |
| Year | Std Pts | HPPR Pts | PPR Pts | Pts/G | HPPR Pts/G | PPR Pts/G | Pts/Tch | HPPR Pts/Tch | PPR Pts/Tch |
| 2020 | 143.8 | 166.8 | 189.8 | 11.06 | 12.83 | 14.6 | 0.90 | 1.04 | 1.19 |
2021 D’Andre Swift Fantasy Football Overview:
In 2020, D’Andre Swift finished with 14.74 PPR fantasy points per game, which ranks as RB12 among rookie running backs in the last five seasons. He’s ahead of guys like Christian McCaffrey, Antonio Gibson, Miles Sanders, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire. These are all players who we think have more upside than Swift, but based on their rookie years, Swift belongs in this discussion.
Unfortunately, we seem to ignore that Swift was the third-most efficient rookie fantasy point producer of the last half-decade, behind just Austin Ekeler and Alvin Kamara in their rookie years. They ignore this because Anthony Lynn just can’t stop talking about how much he likes Jamaal Williams. There was a whole media cycle surrounding him hyping Jamaal Williams. Fantasy Twitter was apoplectic. Oh no, what if D’Andre Swift doesn’t get a lot of touches! He was RB19 in fantasy points per game while ranking #33 in touches per game.
He’s so good because he’s developing into one of the best young pass-catching running backs in the league. We aren’t talking Tarik Cohen-style, are talking in the Kamara and Ekeler molds. Swift is evolving into the next big thing in fantasy football, and people fear him because Jamaal Williams exists on the roster as a worse version of him (and I like Jamaal Williams!).
2021 D’Andre Swift Fantasy Football Draft Strategy:
D’Andre Swift Auction Value: $30
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet!
I get that people are scared to pull the trigger on Swift. After all, Anthony Lynn “loves a shared back system” and he’s already talking up Jamaal Williams. Here’s the thing: I don’t care. First, everyone is in a shared back system these days, with the top of the RB ranks garnering more than 70% of snaps. Second, Anthony Lynn does really well with his two-back system because he leans into it. In 2019 and 2018, both Austin Ekeler and Melvin Gordon finished inside the top-25 at running back as the 1A and 1B in this system. Third, and most importantly, D’Andre Swift might be the best player on the Detroit Lions. Lynn is no dummy, he’ll get Swift the ball.
So, I’m leaning into the fear. I’d rather have D’Andre Swift than any other sophomore running back not named Jonathan Taylor or Antonio Gibson. And, honestly, he belongs in the discussion alongside Gibson. Snag him with your third-round pick and you’ll laugh your way to your fantasy football finals. He ranked fourteenth in yards per touch last year, and fourteenth in goal line carries. He’s a top-fifteen running back going outside of those ranks. Pencil him into your rosters in your salary cap drafts, and put him on your priority shortlist in the third round of your snake drafts. Then, profit.
Best Case Scenario:
D’Andre Swift vaults into the RB1 territory at running back, putting himself alongside other dual-threat running backs like Austin Ekeler and Aaron Jones in the 2022 draft discussion.
Worst Case Scenario:
Anthony Lynn snaps and makes Swift the RB2 to Jamaal Williams’ RB1. He finishes as RB25, and you still have a weekly starter on your hands.
Check out all our 2021 player profiles, here.
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[Statistics are sourced from pro-football-reference.com, airyards.com, and ftnfantasy.com]
[Image Source: D’Andre Swift on Instagram]
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