D'Andre Swift vs. Jamaal Williams: Swift's Role Continuing to Expand Each Week

The Detroit Lions are in desperate need of many things this season. A win, for example, would be nice.

One thing the team isn’t hurting for is talent in the backfield. The team has two very capable running backs in D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams. The problem is that the Lions aren’t utilizing these two to their full potential. I realize that this is due in large part to the Lions playing from behind pretty much always, as it’s not a realistic strategy to run the ball in order to make up ground. But, I do think the Lions are wasting the chance to use these two at a higher rate earlier in games. Especially Swift who has just 12 targets in the first half of games this season. Compare that to 30 after halftime. 

So, with two quality backs on the roster, who should get the RB1 touches in Detroit? 

There is no easy answer to this question, in fact, I believe the Lions would be best served by playing them together more often. But first, let’s take a look at what makes these two different and how their usage has changed over the last six weeks. 

The Lions are coming off a disastrous loss to the Bengals in Week 6, 34-11. As usual, the Lions were playing from behind the whole game and never got their running game going. That might be an understatement considering the pair along with Jared Goff totaled a paltry 36 yards on 18 total carries. Swift handled 13 of those carries while Williams had just four. Williams gets a pass for this performance due to a lingering hip injury, it was still a bad day all around for the Lions on the ground. 

Swift, who is listed as the RB1 on the Lions’ depth chart, outpaced Williams with 13 carries and an eye-opening seven targets in the passing game. Williams was targeted just twice, catching one for a loss of two yards. Swift actually managed to snag five of those targets for 43 yards in a game where only T.J. Hockenson did more in the air for Detroit. Swift has now six or more targets in each of his last four games and has emerged as one of Goff’s go-to guys. Williams, in those same two games, saw just two targets.

Moving back to the rushing game, it’s clear that Swift has been slowly but surely taking touches from Williams as the weeks progress. Week 5 against the Bears saw Williams with 14 carries compared to Swift’s eight. The next week in Minnesota, Williams again out-touched Swift but by a margin of just two 13 to 11. Swift did more with his touches in that game, scoring a touchdown and averaging 4.6 yards per carry to Williams’ 4.4.  

Having watched these games closely, it appears to me that Swift is the better offensive player than Williams. Swift might be the best offensive player this team has at all in fact. The pair is expected to continue sharing time but it appears that Swift is taking over the Lions’ backfield and should continue to see the larger share of work, especially in the passing game.