Week 3 former Lions roundup: D’Andre Swift continuing electric year with Eagles

Former Detroit Lions running back D’Andre Swift is having a career resurgence in Philadelphia. As many pointed out when the Lions traded Swift to the Eagles, the former second-round pick was landing in an ideal situation. Not only was he going back to his hometown, but he was joining a team with the best offensive line in the league and wouldn’t have to be the workhorse back.

On Monday night, Swift continued to prove he was an excellent investment for the Eagles with back-to-back 100-yard games for just the second time in his career.

Let’s dive into that performance—and the performances of other former Lions—in our Week 3 roundup.

• Week 1 results: Several former Lions struggle in debut
• Week 2 results: Injuries plague former Lions

Note: These are only players who were not brought back in 2023. For example, T.J. Hockenson was not included because we already saw him in a Vikings uniform in 2022. (He had eight catches for 78 yards and a critical fumble if you want to know so bad).

Week 3

RB D’Andre Swift — Eagles

Stats: 16 carries, 130 yards; 1 catch, 8 yards

After setting a career-high last week, Swift’s encore was just as impressive. Despite Kenneth Gainwell returning to the lineup—and providing a paltry 43 yards on 13 carries—Swift was the team’s primary back and a jolt of lightning to the Eagles’ offense.

Swift is now second in the NFL in rushing yards (308) and first in yards per carry (6.8, minimum 20 carries).

RB Jamaal Williams — Saints

Stats: Did Not Play

Williams was put on injured reserve last week after suffering a hamstring injury last Monday. He’ll miss at least three more games.

WR DJ Chark — Panthers

Stats: 4 catches, 86 yards, TD

With Andy Dalton in at quarterback and Chark fully healthy from an early injury, the veteran receiver had his best day with Carolina. Playing in 74 offensive snaps—94%—Chark was a big-play machine for the Panthers, including this impressive touchdown catch in which he spun off the defender perfectly.

C Evan Brown — Seahawks

Brown played every center snap for the Seahawks on Sunday, but it wasn’t his best day by PFF’s standards. He gave up two pressures on his way to a season-low 51.6 overall PFF grade. Through three games, Brown’s PFF grade is 63.5, which ranks 15th out of 31 qualifying centers.

LB Josh Woods — Cardinals

Stats: DNP (ankle injury)

For the second straight week, Woods was out with an ankle injury. He did not practice all week, so it’s entirely possible he misses Week 4, as well.

LB Chris Board — Patriots

Stats: 1 tackle

Board has yet to play a defensive snap for the Patriots, but he leads the team with 74 special teams snaps. He tallied another tackle on Sunday, his second of the year.

CB Amani Oruwariye — Giants

Stats: DNP

After an injury scare last week, Oruwariye seems fine. He remains on the Giants’ practice squad. So until he gets promoted to the normal roster, he will be off this list going forward.

CB Mike Hughes — Falcons

Stats: 2 kick returns, 27 yards; 3 punt returns, 11 yards

Hughes only played on seven defensive snaps against the Lions. Now the team’s primary returner on both kicks and punts, Hughes didn’t make much of an impact in that phase of the game against Detroit, averaging a paltry 13.5 yards per kick return and 3.7 yards per punt return.

CB Jeff Okudah — Falcons

Stats: No stats, 11 snaps played

The former Lions first-round pick made his Falcons debut in Detroit, but it was an incredibly quiet start to 2023 for Okudah. Though he projects to take the starting job soon, the Falcons, instead, opted to give him situational looks on Sunday, playing on many third downs and goal-line situations. Per PFF, he was targeted once but did not allow the reception.

CB Starling Thomas — Cardinals

Stats: DNP

Thomas was inactive for the third straight week. He has yet to see the field since the Cardinals picked him up on waivers.

S DeShon Elliott — Dolphins

Stats: 5 tackles, 2 passes defended

While most of the focus on this game is on Miami’s 70 points scored, it was a solid day from the former Lions safety. Elliott earned an 82.7 PFF grade, unsurprisingly earning high marks in tackling (82.0 grade).

Elliott did suffer an undisclosed injury in the game, but it’s hard to know how severe it was, as the Dolphins benched their starters late in the game.