D'Andre Swift News

Injuries forced Swift to miss three games for the third straight season in 2022, and he's been limited by an injury in many other games. This continued lack of durability, combined with Detroit upgrading from Jamaal Williams to David Montgomery last week, brings high levels of uncertainty to calculations of Swift's 2023 fantasy value. While Campbell's comments -- that were made before Montgomery's signing -- nonetheless suggest that the Lions know what they have in their big-play running back, it will be interesting to see what the next "recipe" may consist of considering the last one was to put less on Swift's plate (as he moved from 11.6 carries and 6.0 targets per game in 2021 to 7.1 carries and 5.0 targets per game in 2022). Until further notice, Swift should generally be considered a high-upside, low-floor fantasy option that gets a considerable boost in value within best-ball formats that use PPR scoring.

Though Swift noted that he plans to visit with "a couple doctors" in the coming weeks, he believes that he'll return to full health over the offseason simply through rest and rehab. After amassing a career-high 144 rushing yards on 15 carries while playing 65 percent of the offensive snaps in the Lions' Week 1 loss to the Eagles, Swift never surpassed those three numbers over his subsequent 13 appearances on the season. Instead, the Lions leaned heavily on Jamaal Williams as their lead option on the ground the rest of the way, while Swift logged double-digit carries on just two other occasions and operated as the team's top pass-catching back. Swift still proved to be dynamic as a ballcarrier (5.5 yards per carry), so if he's able to enter the 2023 season in optimal health, he could siphon more work away from Williams, a pending free agent whom the Lions are presumably interested in re-signing.

Jamaal Williams (16-72-2) led the rushing attack -- as he had been doing all year -- forcing Swift to make his mark on the game primarily as a receiver. The 23-year-old performed well as part of a committee this season, racking up 931 combined yards and eight total touchdowns across 14 games. While those are decent totals, fantasy managers were hoping for more production from a player with such a high ADP in 2022. Swift will enter the fourth year of his rookie contract potentially as the lead back in Detroit with Williams lined up to be an unrestricted free agent in 2023.

Swift's rollercoaster season continued as his big day comes a week after totaling 25 scoreless yards on five touches in Week 16 against the Panthers. He didn't even need a Jamaal Williams absence to do so, either, considering the latter totaled 157 yards with a touchdown of his own over 23 touches. If No. 3 running back Justin Jackson (hip) -- who's averaged five combined rushing attempts plus targets since Detroit's Week 6 bye -- remains unable to steal touches in Week 18, look for Swift and Williams to again split the vast majority of work out of the backfield in a the regular-season finale in Green Bay.

Williams missed the final quarter of last week's loss to Carolina with a leg injury and Swift wound up logging his second-highest share of offensive snaps all season. However, Williams may have been held out for precautionary reasons since Detroit was down multiple scores at the time, and he subsequently did not need to miss any practice time this week. While Williams' absence would have positioned Swift as a strong candidate for a heavy role against a weak Bears defense, his presence could mean more of the same for Swift, whose touch count has fluctuated all season.

Swift logged his second-highest snap count of the season and still barely got the ball on a day that he stayed healthy while Jamaal Williams (leg) left the game in the third quarter. Making matters worse is that third-string tight end Shane Zylstra vultured three red-zone touchdowns, and Jared Goff fumbled the snap on one of the few remaining opportunities when Swift was on the field near the goal line. Outside of a sustaining an injury of his own, this outing couldn't have gone much worse for the slumping running back and his fantasy investors. However, for those investors still in contention, Swift could be a high-upside fantasy option in Week 17 against a porous Bears defense if Williams is unable to play.