Who Should I Start? Ezekiel Elliott or D'Andre Swift

Friday, April 26, 2:07 PM

The Dallas Cowboys could draft a running back on Day 2 of the 2024 NFL draft on Friday night with one of their three picks, but that choice won't change the expectation that free-agent running back Ezekiel Elliott will return to Dallas' backfield in 2024 to complement and help mentor a rookie. Dallas Morning News' Michael Gehlken is reporting that Elliott's signing with the Cowboys is increasingly imminent. Elliott's agent met with Dallas on Wednesday, and the Cowboys have been connected with the 28-year-old RB throughout the offseason. The Cowboys lost Tony Pollard to free agency this offseason but have Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn. If Elliott were to return to Big D, he'll be in a complementary role and will be an RB3/flex, at best, in fantasy after putting up a career-low 3.5 yards per carry in 2023 with New England.

Tuesday, March 26, 4:39 PM

The Chicago Bears signing of former Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles running back D'Andre Swift was one of the first moves of free agency, and head coach Matt Eberflus suggested he will be a passing game weapon for the organization. "We just felt that we wanted a home-run hitter there. I think D'Andre brings that. We wanted a weapon back -; a guy who could be a weapon out of the backfield," Eberflus said. "I know that in situational football it's very difficult to be able to have the two guys outside covered, two tight ends covered, and then you got another situation where you have the weapon back inside. So that was critical." It sounds like Chicago is planning to utilize Swift out of the backfield more often, which was a role he excelled in while in Detroit. Swift posted just a 10% target share in his lone season in Philadelphia after being at 15.1% in 2022 and 18.4% in 2021. With Chicago almost certainly slated to take USC's Caleb Williams with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Swift could see a ton of usage underneath as a receiver while Williams feels out the NFL game.