D’Andre Swift Has Stood Out Amongst The RBs at Eagles Camp

One of the big battles in Eagles Training Camp is at RB. Not necessarily to see who makes the roster, those 4 guys are pretty much set in stone. But the question is who of D'Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny, and Kenny Gainwell would grab the RB1 role? But listening to the Eagles Beat Reporters, so far in camp the battle has not been close. D'Andre Swift is taking the job and running with it.

"Swift has stood out among the RBs. I think he is putting himself in a good position to be RB1 here. It is not going to be like last year where Sirianni declared Miles Sanders his guy and he had the large bulk of the touches... From week to week, it could change as to who has the most carries. But they are using Swift in a variety of ways. It is really easy to envision the offensive coaches getting excited about the multitude of ways they can deploy him. And therefore would want him on the field as much as possible. 

Today we saw good evidence of the different things he can do. One where he broke up the middle, and had his best run of camp so far. He just found daylight, and he went for a good 50-yard gain. They also came back to him when he had a cross over the middle, hit him in stride, and he was able to take off from there.

Another really interesting play is where they had everybody rolling right. Then Hurts stopped and threw to the opposite side of the field to Swift racing down the left sideline. The play didn't work. But the point is they are finding different ways to utilize him. That should be an exciting thing for Eagles fans. You haven't seen a whole lot of dynamic in-game stuff out of the RBS to this point. But this season I think it could be different." 

As Tim said, we did not see the RBs get involved in the passing game too much last season. Kenny Gainwell led the Eagles RBs in receptions and receiving yards. But even he had just 23 catches and 169 yards. But D'Andre Swift has a chance to change that.

In 3 seasons with the Lions, Swift racked up 156 catches, 1,198 yards, and 7 TDs through the air. And that was with the QB play there not always being ideal. Now he joins a team that already has a dynamic passing game. And Swift could be the secret weapon that takes the offense to the next level. On passing plays teams already have to account for AJ Brown, Devonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert, all while keeping an eye on Jalen Hurts to make sure he does not take off. If you now add an RB who can catch the ball in space and make big plays? I don't envy opposing defensive coordinators.

The Eagles had a hell of a draft. And they even added some interesting names in Undrafted Free Agency. They added Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Tyler Steen, Sydney Brown, Kelee Ringo, as well as D'Andre Swift via a trade. Before all that, they also resigned Darius Slay and James Bradberry. And in free agency, they added names like Rashaad Penny and Olamide Zaccheaus. Not to mention it was already a Super Bowl-caliber roster. But a busy offseason like that means there will be some training camp battles to watch.

Some guys will be fighting for a roster spot. Even if they are on the roster, they have to compete for snaps. A lot of these additions will be battling for playing time with either other new guys on the roster, or guys who were already here last year.

Could Ty Zentner supplant Arryn Siposs as the Eagles' punter? Who will be the Eagles' lead back? Will Quez Watkins lose his job as the Eagles' Slot WR? Which of the new Cornerback additions will be the first guy off the bench in the case of an injury? Who will be the Eagles' new starting Right Guard? The starting Safety alongside Terrell Edmunds? Let's take a look at all of these training camp battles for the Eagles and more.

New addition Terrell Edmunds is likely locked into one of the starter spots at Safety. He has been a solid dependable starter for the Steelers for years. And neither of the other Safeties on the roster have real starting experience. The battle will be for that second Safety spot.

K'Von Wallace and the other deep bench guys are out. Before the draft, it looked like it was Reed Blankenship's job. But then in the 3rd round, the Eagles selected Sydney Brown out of Illinois. A hard-hitting Safety, who made a ton of plays, and was the leader of one of the best defenses in the nation. Anytime you are a 3rd round pick, you will have a chance to start. This could end up being one of the most interesting battles in camp. Here is the case for each guy to win it.

Sydney Brown

4 of the 5 spots along the line are set in stone. But at RG, there is an opening. Isaac Seumalo left in free agency. When Seumalo signed with the Steelers, the assumption was that Cam Jurgens would slide over to RG for a year since Jason Kelce was returning for one more season. But like at Safety, the Eagles draft, the Eagles took an Offensive Lineman in the 3rd round, Tyler Steen. And it seems he may get a chance to compete for that RG spot.

Tyler Steen

And here we have a 3-way battle. When Miles Sanders left in Free Agency, it looked like it would be Kenny Gainwell stepping into the lead role. But now going into camp, he may be the 3rd guy on the totem poll. First, the Eagles added Rashaad Penny. When Penny has been healthy he has been super productive. The problem is he can't stay healthy. Meanwhile, they also brought in D'Andre Swift.

The 3 will be competing for the job of lead back. The good thing with this battle though, is even those who don't win it, could still see the field plenty. The Eagles will likely rotate through all 3 and ride the hot hand in each individual game. There may not be a true lead guy like there was with Miles Sanders last year, unless one of them really stands out.

D'Andre Swift 

Kenny Gainwell

The Eagles finally brought in some competition for Arryn Siposs. Siposs started strong in 2021, but in the second half of that season, and all of last season, struggled badly. The Eagles signed Kansas State Punter Ty Zentner to compete with Siposs in camp.

Neither Ringo or Williams will be able to get one of the 3 starting spots. Slay, James Bradberry, and Avonte Maddox are all safe in their spot as starters. But the Eagles did run some 4 CB schemes at times last year. And if there are injuries, there is some competition for who will be the first guy off the bench. That fight would likely be between Ringo and Williams.

The battle for the job as Slot WR has a chance to make a big impact. Last year as the 3rd WR, Quez Watkins played 681 snaps, just over half of the Eagles' total snaps. Zach Pascal had just 338. Whichever guy does not win the job will see a significant drop. Even worse was the disparity in targets. So can Watkins hold onto his job?