The Lions took running back D’Andre Swift at the top of the second round of this year’s draft in a move that led to questions about whether he or Kerryon Johnson will be the starting back in Detroit.
Head coach Matt Patricia isn’t making a big deal about it, though. During an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Patricia indicated that he has plans for both backs that should render irrelevant the question of which one is on the field for the first play of the game.
“For me, we’re going to try to play whoever is going to help us in that particular play, that particular game, whatever it might be,” Patricia said, via the Detroit Free Press. “If you’re out there for the very first play, or you get out there on the second play, I don’t really understand what the difference is in a starter in that case. But, certainly, we’re excited to be able to acquire Swift and get him on our team and seeing what he can do. Sometimes you put two or three running backs out there. We will see what happens.”
Johnson averaged 5.4 yards per carry as a rookie in 2018, but missed six games due to injury. He missed eight games last year and saw his average run drop to 3.6 yards for a performance that might have helped open the door for Swift’s arrival in Detroit.