The Detroit Lions added another player to their SEC-heavy backfield Friday in the 2020 NFL Draft, selecting D’Andre Swift out of Georgia with the No. 35 overall pick.
Swift joins Kerryon Johnson from Auburn and Bo Scarbrough from Alabama as the likely top options in the Lions’ run game.
“It’s amazing,” Swift said. “It speaks volumes to the conference. I think some of the best players come from the SEC. It’s one of the higher conferences in college football. Just to have an all-SEC backfield, it’s just a blessing.”
Swift’s arrival in Detroit could alter how the Lions end up using their backs. Matt Patricia has used more of a committee approach to his backfield since taking over as Detroit’s head coach in 2018.
Johnson has struggled with injuries the past two seasons, playing in just 18 of 32 possible games. Scarbrough joined the Lions during the middle of last season on the practice squad and ended up starting five games, gaining 377 yards and a touchdown.
Swift could end up taking carries from both of them as they build a potential all-SEC attack. Swift was first-team All-SEC last season, and Johnson, the Lions’ second-round pick in 2018, was the SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2017.
The 21-year-old Swift is also the latest Georgia running back to make the league, including Sony Michel, Nick Chubb, Todd Gurley II, Terrell Davis, Garrison Hearst, Knowshon Moreno, Rodney Hampton and Herschel Walker.
“Just how they prepare, how they prepare their backs and every position, get them ready for the next level no matter what is thrown at them,” Swift said. “Preparing mentally and physically. So it’s preparation.”
There are a couple of non-SEC running backs on Detroit’s roster, but the only one expected to see any significant time would be Ty Johnson, a running back who played at Maryland. Fullback Nick Bawden, who played at San Diego State, is also in the backfield at times.
When you add in quarterbacks, it only increases the depth of the SEC in Detroit. Starter Matthew Stafford, the No. 1 overall pick in 2009, played at Georgia, and his backup, Chase Daniel, went to Missouri — an SEC school that was in the Big 12 when Daniel was there.