D'Andre Swift has a lofty goal this season. He's hoping to put up 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards, something that's been done only three times in NFL history (Roger Craig, Marshall Faulk and Christian McCaffrey). Unlikely, but if he comes anywhere close to it, he'll be a pretty awesome fantasy pick.
Last year Swift played in 13 games, putting up 617 rushing yards and 452 receiving yards. Projected out over a 17-game season, that works out to 808 rushing yards and 592 receiving. So he'd need to slightly increase his rushing numbers and dramatically increase his receiving production to reach his goal.
But even with a only a slight increase in production, he's going to be a really, really good PPR back. Top-1o looks like his floor, if he can stay healthy, and top-5 is pretty likely.
I looked at the last 30 years of running backs who made it up to a more modest total -- 600 yards -- in both rushing and receiving, which Swift will almost certainly do if he can stay healthy. There have been 45 such players since 1992. (Just one each of the last two years: Alvin Kamara in 2020, Austin Ekeler last year. Six hundred receiving is kind of rare.) Thirty-six of them finished as top-5 (PPR) running backs. Only two of 45 didn't rank in the top 10.
Table shows all 45 600-600 backs since 1992, sorted by total yards.
600-600 RUNNING BACKS, 1992-2021 | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Att | Run | No | Rec | Tot | TD | Rk |
1999 | Marshall Faulk, St.L. | 253 | 1381 | 87 | 1048 | 2429 | 12 | 1 |
2019 | Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 287 | 1387 | 116 | 1005 | 2392 | 19 | 1 |
2003 | LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D. | 313 | 1645 | 100 | 725 | 2370 | 17 | 2 |
2006 | Steven Jackson, St.L. | 346 | 1528 | 90 | 806 | 2334 | 16 | 2 |
2002 | Priest Holmes, K.C. | 313 | 1615 | 70 | 672 | 2287 | 24 | 1 |
1998 | Marshall Faulk, Ind. | 324 | 1319 | 86 | 908 | 2227 | 10 | 2 |
2010 | Arian Foster, Hou. | 327 | 1616 | 66 | 604 | 2220 | 18 | 1 |
2014 | LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 290 | 1361 | 83 | 854 | 2215 | 11 | 1 |
2000 | Marshall Faulk, St.L. | 253 | 1359 | 81 | 830 | 2189 | 26 | 1 |
2001 | Priest Holmes, K.C. | 327 | 1555 | 62 | 614 | 2169 | 10 | 2 |
2001 | Marshall Faulk, St.L. | 260 | 1382 | 83 | 765 | 2147 | 21 | 1 |
2016 | David Johnson, Ariz. | 293 | 1239 | 80 | 879 | 2118 | 20 | 1 |
1992 | Thurman Thomas, Buff. | 312 | 1487 | 58 | 626 | 2113 | 12 | 2 |
2003 | Priest Holmes, K.C. | 320 | 1420 | 74 | 690 | 2110 | 27 | 1 |
2007 | Brian Westbrook, Phil. | 278 | 1333 | 90 | 771 | 2104 | 12 | 1 |
2017 | Todd Gurley, LAR | 279 | 1305 | 64 | 788 | 2093 | 19 | 1 |
2011 | Ray Rice, Balt. | 291 | 1364 | 76 | 704 | 2068 | 15 | 1 |
2009 | Ray Rice, Balt. | 254 | 1339 | 78 | 702 | 2041 | 8 | 3 |
2018 | Saquon Barkley, NYG | 261 | 1307 | 91 | 721 | 2028 | 15 | 2 |
2013 | Jamaal Charles, K.C. | 259 | 1287 | 70 | 693 | 1980 | 19 | 1 |
2018 | Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 219 | 1098 | 107 | 867 | 1965 | 13 | 1 |
2017 | LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 321 | 1291 | 85 | 655 | 1946 | 11 | 2 |
2006 | Brian Westbrook, Phil. | 240 | 1217 | 77 | 699 | 1916 | 11 | 4 |
2002 | Charlie Garner, Oak. | 182 | 962 | 91 | 941 | 1903 | 11 | 4 |
2016 | LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 261 | 1268 | 75 | 616 | 1884 | 9 | 3 |
1992 | Lorenzo White, Hou. | 265 | 1226 | 57 | 641 | 1867 | 8 | 5 |
2000 | Ricky Watters, Sea. | 278 | 1242 | 63 | 613 | 1855 | 9 | 7 |
2014 | Matt Forte, Chi. | 266 | 1038 | 102 | 808 | 1846 | 10 | 3 |
2011 | Arian Foster, Hou. | 278 | 1224 | 53 | 617 | 1841 | 12 | 3 |
2000 | Charlie Garner, S.F. | 258 | 1142 | 68 | 647 | 1789 | 10 | 6 |
2000 | Tiki Barber, NYG | 213 | 1006 | 70 | 719 | 1725 | 9 | 8 |
1995 | Edgar Bennett, G.B. | 316 | 1067 | 61 | 648 | 1715 | 7 | 8 |
2020 | Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 187 | 932 | 83 | 756 | 1688 | 21 | 1 |
1994 | Ricky Watters, S.F. | 239 | 877 | 66 | 719 | 1596 | 11 | 5 |
2018 | Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 194 | 883 | 81 | 709 | 1592 | 18 | 4 |
2021 | Austin Ekeler, LAC | 206 | 911 | 70 | 647 | 1558 | 20 | 2 |
2017 | Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 120 | 728 | 81 | 826 | 1554 | 14 | 3 |
2004 | Brian Westbrook, Phil. | 177 | 812 | 73 | 703 | 1515 | 9 | 7 |
1993 | Johnny Johnson, NYJ | 198 | 821 | 67 | 641 | 1462 | 4 | 4 |
2003 | Moe Williams, Min. | 174 | 745 | 65 | 644 | 1389 | 8 | 12 |
1995 | Derek Loville, S.F. | 218 | 723 | 87 | 662 | 1385 | 13 | 3 |
1993 | Herschel Walker, Phil. | 174 | 746 | 75 | 610 | 1356 | 4 | 6 |
2011 | Darren Sproles, N.O. | 87 | 603 | 86 | 710 | 1313 | 10 | 5 |
2005 | Brian Westbrook, Phil. | 156 | 617 | 61 | 616 | 1233 | 7 | 10 |
2001 | Duce Staley, Phil. | 166 | 604 | 63 | 626 | 1230 | 4 | 15 |
Swift doesn't look quite as good in standard formats. And it's likely the team will work in another back for some carries, unlike what was happening when Craig, Faulk and McCaffrey were achieving the milestones Swift is shooting for.
But I think 800 rushing and 600-700 receiving is very doable, giving him top-5 potential -- not just potential, but likelihood. I'll be very comfortable selecting him at the bottom of the first round in drafts.
--Andy Richardson