There have only been three running backs in NFL history to record 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season – Roger Craig (1985), Marshall Faulk (1999) and Christian McCaffrey (2019).
Detroit Lions running back D’Andre Swift hopes to become the fourth member of that list this season.
Asked Wednesday after the first of two joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts what his biggest individual goals for the season are, Swift admitted to the lofty target.
Swift was featured pretty heavily on the second episode of HARD KNOCKS: TRAINING CAMP WITH THE DETROIT LIONS released Tuesday night on HBO. The show focused on his relationship with assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley, and how hard Staley pushes Swift.
Swift said Wednesday it's because of Staley and the way he pushes him, that he thinks 1,000 and 1,000 is attainable.
View photos from the Detroit Lions' trip to Indianapolis for joint practices and their Week 2 preseason game against the Colts.
"He knows what it takes," Swift said. "He's been in this position I'm in. He's the type of coach that is going to push me to my limits and that's the type of coach I need."
In the episode, Staley said he thinks Swift can be one of the best backs in the NFL, and that's why he coaches him so hard. Swift loves that about Staley.
Swift is healthy for the first time in three training camps with the Lions and has looked great, both running the football and as a matchup weapon in the passing game. He rushed for 617 yards and had 452 receiving yards last season, but also missed four games with a shoulder injury and played limited reps the last two games of the season after coming back. He was leading all NFL running backs in receptions before the injury on Thanksgiving. This year, Swift is aiming much higher.
"He pushes me to my limits," Swift said of Staley. "Learning coverages, learning defenses, just details in my work on and off the field, so when I see it in a game, I've seen it before in practice. One of the best coaches I've been around in this league.
"I embrace it. I look forward to it every day. A guy like him that is going to be on me hard like that, push me to my limits, make sure I can get the best out of myself. Can't ask for nothing else."
GOFF, OFFENSE IN GOOD PLACE
It's been a steady upward progression through camp for quarterback Jared Goff and the first-team offense. We saw some of that Preseason Week 1 with an impressive 10-play scoring drive against Atlanta.
We saw it again Wednesday in Indianapolis as Goff and the offense looked really good in team periods against a good Colts' defense, moving the chains and scoring a bunch.
Goff looks like he's picked up right where he left off last season. And with how good this offensive line can be and some of the weapons Goff has at his disposal at the skill positions, this offense is in a really good place with a few weeks to go before the start of the regular season.
Goff said the standard is a lot higher for everyone on offense at this point in camp.
"I know the standards that we have now for ourselves have rose tremendously from where we started in training camp," he said Wednesday. "We come out here every day and what would have been a good day maybe last year or a month ago is a bad day in some ways. I thinks that's the main things, our standard is different now and guys are holding themselves and each other accountable."
EXTRA POINTS
- Head coach Dan Campbell said quarterback David Blough will be taking the second-team reps for now as the backup QB competition heads to an important Week 2 preseason matchup Saturday.
- After leaving practice Monday with a back spasm, it was good to see right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai back on the field and taking part in practice Wednesday.