Last season the Philadelphia Eagles had the fifth most rushing yards in the entire league. Behind the best offensive line in football, Miles Sanders ran his way to a career year and a big contract with the Carolina Panthers this off-season.
Going into the NFL Draft, there was a lot of hype around Bijan Robinson and the Eagles being the perfect match. That dream didn’t come to fruition after the Atlanta Falcons took the Texas Longhorn superstar at pick eight before the Birds were on the clock. The Eagles running back room looked a little concerning, but on the third day of the draft, Howie Roseman pulled off another draft day trade to take the Eagles’ superb rushing attack to another level.
The Eagles already had Kenny Gainwell and Boston Scott returning to the team in 2023. They also signed Rashaad Penny to a cheap one-year deal earlier in the off-season. The running back room was solid heading into the draft, but it felt like they could still add one more piece, and they did just that.
On day three of the NFL Draft, the Eagles acquired Detroit Lions running back D’Andre Swift for a 2025 4th-round pick and a swap of 7th-round picks. The move didn’t just bring Swift back home to Philadelphia, it completed the Eagles’ running back room, and the room looks even better than last year.
The beauty of this running back room is all four backs can do different things, and they all have the potential to break huge open runs throughout the game.
Starting with Penny, the former Seattle Seahawk averaged a whopping 6.1 yards per carry last season and 6.3 in 2021. The catch with Penny is his health. He played in five games in 2022 and 10 in 2021. The former first-round pick has yet to stay healthy for a full season during his career but has proved in small sample sizes he can be not just a good running back but an elite running back. If Penny can stay healthy, the Eagles may have had the steal of the off-season.
D’Andre Swift is awesome. But Rashaad Penny is also going to be a lot of fun too. Excited to see what he does behind Eagles’ brick wall: pic.twitter.com/BIYeA3XtWU
— Conor Myles (@SnipeMyles) May 3, 2023
Now to the newest running back on the roster; when the news broke that Swift was coming to the Eagles, the city completely forgot who Bijan Robinson even was.
Swift tore the Eagles up last season, accumulating 144 yards on the ground and another 31 through the air in the opener last season. Swift’s ability as a pass catcher and shiftiness out of the backfield perfectly complements Penny and his bruising attack, forming a great duo in the backfield.
Adding D'Andre Swift is the most impressive move from the Eagles this weekend for @danorlovsky7 🦅
"This might be the low-risk, high-reward move that kind of propels them past Kansas City and a Super Bowl." pic.twitter.com/9wQJa1JOGi
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) May 1, 2023
Penny and Swift are great additions, but you can’t forget about Gainwell and Scott, either. Gainwell was the Eagles’ best back in the playoffs and got the majority of the work late in the season. Scott is another underrated back who just adds another weapon out of the backfield and helps fill out this loaded running back room.
#Panthers signed former #Eagles RB Miles Sanders to a 4-year, $25M contract in free-agency. He got $13M guaranteed.
The Eagles replacements of D’Andre Swift and Rashaad Penny will combine to make less than $3M this year.
Philly is paying $10M less than if they re-signed Sanders pic.twitter.com/S2yn36ALZO
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) May 7, 2023
The Eagles now have a robust four-headed monster to pair with Jalen Hurts and the rushing attack.
It is hard to think about how the rushing offense could somehow improve after last season, but with the talent added and returning, this rushing offense could be even more lethal in 2023.
Featured Image: Rey Del Rio/Getty Images
