PHILADELPHIA − So there was D’Andre Swift lined up in the backfield, running a wheel route down the field, using his speed to get in behind linebacker Nicholas Morrow as Jalen Hurts lofted a pass over Morrow’s head and Swift’s shoulder.
Swift dove for the ball about 35 yards down the field, grabbing it with one arm just before he hit the ground as Morrow held the other arm. At the same time, safety Terrell Edmunds also dove for the ball. But Swift held on, easily making the best and most acrobatic catch through the first three practices of Eagles’ training camp.
“Jalen (Hurts) made a check,” Swift said nonchalantly. “Seen the alignment, the linebacker. (Hurts) threw the ball up there, and I just went up and got it.”
ALL THE BIRDS’ NEWS:🦅 Sign up for Eye on the Eagles, our new NFL newsletter 🦅
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni described Swift as having “a unique ability” as a receiver out of the backfield.
Swift, whom the Eagles traded for on draft day with the Detroit Lions, is a major reason why the Eagles don’t expect to miss a beat offensively after Miles Sanders, who had a career-high 1,269 yards rushing, left in free agency.
The Eagles haven’t had a running back who was as much of a threat as a receiver since Darren Sproles’ first three seasons with the Eagles from 2014-16. During that span, Sproles averaged 49 catches for 401 yards each season.
The difference is that Swift, the Lions’ second-round pick in 2020, is also an early-down running back. Sproles was primarily used in third-down passing situations.
GREEN WITH ENVY:Eagles unveil kelly green alternate uniforms, helmets. When will they wear them in a game?
But it’s not just Swift. The Eagles want to use all of their running backs as receivers in order to take advantage of Hurts’ ability as a passer and runner. Rashaad Penny, who signed with the Eagles as a free agent during the spring, said he was stunned to see how much he could potentially be used in the passing game.
“To see this many route trees for a running back is honestly kind of cool because I never got to experience something like this,” said Penny, who spent his first five NFL seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. “For us to be in empty a lot, and to showcase our abilities to catching the ball and being like a receiver.”
Penny has only 27 catches for 222 yards in 42 career games, and never more than nine catches in a season. But he insists that he can be a factor in the passing game, citing Hurts’ ability as a runner and passer.
“I think any running back can really come in and thrive in this system just because of the weapons they have, and Jalen,” Penny said. “I definitely think it’s easier − execution, playing fast, and just doing what you have to do.”
It’s not that the Eagles are changing their offensive philosophy.
It’s just that there are different ways to replace Sanders’ yardage. Sanders was not much of a receiver out of the backfield. He had just 20 catches for 78 yards in 2022. Even Kenny Gainwell, known as more of a third-down receiving back, had just 23 receptions for 169 yards last season.
Swift, on the other hand, had a career-high 62 catches for 452 yards, to go along with 617 yards rushing in 2021 with the Lions. That’s a total of 1,069 yards. His numbers dipped a bit last season to 48 catches for 389 yards, with 542 yards rushing, for 931 total yards.
Penny, meanwhile, played in only five games for the Seahawks last season before breaking his leg. He had 346 yards rushing and averaged 6.1 yards per carry.
But he was impressed with Swift as a receiver.
“That’s his game,” Penny said. “He’s special. I feel like he can do it all.”
To Sirianni, it doesn’t matter if those yards from the running backs come as rushers or receivers.
“Your offense is based off of your skill, first of all, and the players that you have,” Sirianni said. “It’s foolish for us to do something that our guys can’t do. With that being said, you have these different boxes that you want to be able to check … that are important to attack a defense.
“Those can be supplemented in a lot of different ways as far as the way your backs get touches, the way your tight ends get touches. … You’re harder to defend when you have a lot of guys in different positions that can do (different things), so you can be in these different personnel groups and still running similar plays for your quarterback.”
All of that benefits Hurts.
Make no mistake, the offense still runs through receivers A.J. Brown, who set a franchise record with 1,496 yards receiving last season, and DeVonta Smith, who had 1,196 yards. Tight end Dallas Goedert, who had 702 yards receiving despite missing five games, is also a big factor in the passing game.
But Hurts, who threw for 3,701 yards, can also run, adding 760 yards. Swift’s ability as a dual threat gives Hurts more options, both in read-option plays and the screen game. Penny can do the same as a runner, benefitting when the defense shadows Hurts.
“They’re very great players with the ball in their hands,” Hurts said about Swift and Penny. “I’m excited to just see them more, get a feel for them and how they play the game. They’re obviously great assets for us.”
Swift, for one, can’t wait.
“Looking at the scheme of the offense and everything, and all the opportunities that we have as a running back group, there’s gonna be opportunities to make plays for the team,” he said. “It’s great because (Hurts) brings the element of the game that a natural specific quarterback doesn’t do. He’s able to do a lot more, so it just opens up a lot of different stuff.”
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
