The Philadelphia Eagles did not look their best in Week 1 but still managed to squeak out a win. They now face a softer defense in Week 2. D’Andre Swift was not part of the offense at all last week. But with Kenneth Gainwell now missing Thursday night’s contest, should fantasy football managers give Swift one more chance in lineups?
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Should I Start or Sit D’Andre Swift in Fantasy This Week?
The most frustrating lineup decisions we have to make occur on Thursdays. It’s great when you get it right. But when you get it wrong, you get the pleasure of staring at those four points in your lineup for three days, wishing you had literally anyone else in that spot.
For example, last week, the first start/sit I wrote was on Skyy Moore. I said to sit him. If you didn’t take my advice for whatever reason, you had to stare at a big ole zero in your lineup for three days.
While the zero on Thursday is frustrating, ultimately, there’s no actual difference between a Thursday dud and a Sunday dud. The latter is exactly what fantasy managers got from D’Andre Swift.
In the preseason, I described Swift as having the largest range of outcomes in the history of fantasy football. We may very well see that in full force on Thursday night.
Heading into Week 1, we truly had no idea how the Eagles would deploy their backs. When Rashaad Penny was made inactive, it sure sounded like it was wheels up for a Swift/Gainwell backfield. Instead, it was just Gainwell.
Swift played just 29% of the snaps, compared to 62% of Gainwell. He had one carry for three yards and caught one of his two targets for no gain. It truly was not possible to paint a worse Eagles debut for Swift.
We know what a fully unleashed Swift is capable of. However, we must be reminded that the Eagles gave up very little to acquire Swift. There is no sunk cost here. They have no allegiance to him and owe him nothing.
If there’s any silver lining, it’s that Swift was clearly playing ahead of Boston Scott. Even though we’ve seen the Eagles be willing to use Scott as the lead back before, it stands to reason without Gainwell, Swift would be ahead of Scott.
Fantasy Outlook for Swift vs. the Vikings
The concern for Swift’s fantasy outlook Thursday night is not Scott. It’s Rashaad Penny. Sans Gainwell, the Eagles will undoubtedly activate Penny. While Penny’s deactivation last week might suggest he’s there to be the third-stringer, I’m not so sure.
It wouldn’t shock me in the least if Penny operated as the lead back, with Swift only mixing in occasionally, primarily on passing downs. If it ends up being a 55-35-10 split between Penny, Swift, and Scott, Swift is not going to be startable.
MORE: 2023 RB Fantasy Football Rankings
You can see where we have all three Eagles backs ranked in our PFN Consensus Week 2 Rankings. In my personal rankings, I ticked Swift up to 31, and put Penny right behind him.
At the moment, I am torn on Swift. On the one hand, if you’re not starting him this week, you might as well drop him. On the other hand, I think there’s a very strong possibility that my theory about Penny is correct, and he will be the lead back.
Given where Swift went in fantasy drafts, you likely don’t have to start him. I would err on the side of caution here, as I really can’t shake this feeling it’s going to be the Penny show.