Detroit Lions running back D’Andre Swift suffered a shoulder injury in a Week 12 loss to the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving. Prior to his injury, he was playing at an elite level in a workhorse role for Detroit. Will Swift suit up in Week 17 against the Seattle Seahawks, and what can fantasy football managers expect if he does?
Update 01/02/22: D’Andre Swift is officially active and will play against the Seahawks today.
D’Andre Swift’s 2021 production
Swift is in the midst of an outstanding season in 2021. He has recorded 555 yards and 4 touchdowns on 140 carries through 11 games. The versatile running back added 56 receptions for 429 yards and 2 scores on 70 targets. It’s important to note that Swift played limited snaps in his last game, as he was injured early on.
He was coming off of two of his best rushing performances of the year before he was injured. He posted 130 and 136 rushing yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns in Weeks 10 and 11, respectively. Swift doesn’t solely rely on his rushing potential, though. He posted 40+ receiving yards in six of his 11 games, including 96 against the Los Angeles Rams.
Will D’Andre Swift play in Week 17?
Swift was often labeled as questionable for Detroit, even prior to his AC joint sprain. With that said, he isn’t listed on the injury report for Week 17.
Swift returned to practice this week, practicing in full every day. This comes as a bit of a surprise, as players are routinely given days off, specifically when they are dealing with injuries. That wasn’t the case for Swift, who looks as if he could be returning to somewhat of a full workload for the Lions.
How will this affect the Lions’ offense?
Swift’s presence will take away from several players in the Detroit offense. Jamaal Williams and Craig Reynolds saw larger roles without the Lions’ star running back in the lineup.
Although Williams will likely continue to see a role, as he did prior to Swift’s injury, it will be significantly smaller than in recent weeks. Williams recorded 18+ touches in each of his last three games, and he is unlikely to reach that threshold in Week 17.
Reynolds averaged 18 touches per game from Weeks 14 through 16. He could see a few touches as the Lions test him for the future, but he is unlikely to have a real position in the offense with Swift and Williams healthy.
Amon-Ra St. Brown has been force-fed with 46 targets over his last four games. He’ll likely continue to see plenty of targets as Detroit gets him experience, but the offense will run through Swift moving forward.
Are fantasy points available vs. Seattle?
There are plenty of fantasy points available for Swift against the Seattle Seahawks. They’re allowing the third-most fantasy points per game to opposing running backs at 22.9.
The Seahawks have given up a few big games in terms of receiving to running backs in recent weeks. Swift could be the most versatile player they’ve faced recently, and he comes with tremendous upside in this type of matchup.
With Jared Goff out, the Lions could rely heavily on their rushing attack. Tim Boyle could look to Swift on checkdowns early and often when they are throwing the ball.
The only major concern here is that Detroit gives Swift a light workload. Nonetheless, he is a high-end RB2 with RB1 upside in this matchup.