D'Andre Swift, Lions Agree to 4-Year Rookie Contract

Pay day has finally come for D'Andre Swift.

The running back out of Georgia signed his four-year rookie contract with the Detroit Lions on Saturday.

Drafted No. 35 overall in April, Swift became the second running back selected after Kansas City took Clyde Edwards-Helaire with the 32nd pick. 

Per Spotrac, the total contract value for the 35th pick is $8.5 million and a signing bonus of $3.8 million. 

In his final season with the Bulldogs, Swift rushed for 1,218 yards on 196 attempts (6.2 yards average) with seven touchdowns. While he's effective in the passing game, his bruising style out of the backfield should provide a solid complement to quarterback Matt Stafford's passing game. 

NFL Analyst Lance Zierlein compared Swift to Frank Gore ahead of the draft, saying he can attack defenses with both his inside and outside game. He'll have to stand out in a loaded backfield before he does that. 

Detroit is carrying four tailbacks who all figure to see snaps in Swift, Kerryon Johnson, Ty Johnson and Bo Scarbrough. It remains to be seen which player will establish himself and take over the bulk of carries down the stretch, but there's plenty of time for that. General manager Bob Quinn is excited for the competition. 

"We're going to use multiple running backs," Quinn told ESPN's Michael Rothstein. "We like Kerryon Johnson. We like Ty Johnson. We like Bo. So we're going to put D'Andre in there. D'Andre's not going to carry the ball 35 times a game, we know that. We're going to use our backs. We're going to use all of them. That's why we drafted D'Andre, he's going to be part of that package."

With a four-year deal, Swift now has plenty of time to prove himself and can focus on his development early on.