During NFL Network’s morning show “Good Morning Football”, host Nate Burleson asked Kansas City Chiefs superstar Kareem Hunt who he expects to be the next breakout rookie running back. The answer he gave: Terry Swanson.
During his freshman, sophomore, and junior seasons at the University of Toledo, Swanson had to compete against Kareem Hunt for carries. Despite Hunt being an elite running back, as exhibited by his marvelous rookie season in the NFL, Swanson was still able to carve out a role on the offense, garnering 372 carries for 2,238 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Rushing | Receiving | Scrimmage | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Plays | Yds | Avg | TD |
*2014 | Toledo | MAC | FR | RB | 12 | 113 | 732 | 6.5 | 6 | 12 | 153 | 12.8 | 1 | 125 | 885 | 7.1 | 7 |
*2015 | Toledo | MAC | SO | RB | 11 | 143 | 923 | 6.5 | 7 | 13 | 71 | 5.5 | 0 | 156 | 994 | 6.4 | 7 |
*2016 | Toledo | MAC | JR | RB | 13 | 116 | 583 | 5.0 | 4 | 10 | 74 | 7.4 | 1 | 126 | 657 | 5.2 | 5 |
*2017 | Toledo | MAC | SR | RB | 13 | 242 | 1363 | 5.6 | 14 | 20 | 194 | 9.7 | 0 | 262 | 1557 | 5.9 | 14 |
Career | Toledo | 614 | 3601 | 5.9 | 31 | 55 | 492 | 8.9 | 2 | 669 | 4093 | 6.1 | 33 |
But during his senior season is when Swanson truly shined, because while Kareem Hunt was captivating NFL audiences with his breakout rookie season with the Chiefs, he was able to run for 1,364 and 14 touchdowns on 242 carries. This tremendous performance led to Swanson being immediately placed into the draft conversation, with most scouts projecting him as a late round pick or priority free agent.
-
Ep 119: Patrick Mahomes' Top 5 List
by Full Press Coverage on May 27, 2023 at 7:49 pm
Swanson continued to bolster his draft stock by putting up impressive numbers during his pro day. His blistering 4.51 40-yard dash would’ve ranked sixth among running backs at the combine and 24 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press would’ve ranked fourth. These totals were soon followed by interest from NFL teams, with the Texans being particularly intrigued, having Swanson visit the team in mid-April.

Despite all of this success, Swanson fell out of the draft entirely and was soon signed as an undrafted free agent by the Texans. Most weren’t surprised by this move, as the Texans had already met with Swanson and it was well reported that they wanted to acquire another running back through either the draft or free agency.
Now that he is on the team, I expect Terry Swanson to carve out a role on the Texans offense and steal carries from incumbents Lamar Miller and D’Onta Foreman. The main reason I believe this is because Swanson has the rushing abilities to play a larger role.
Congratulations to Terry Swanson on signing with the Houston Texans as a free agent! #GoRockets pic.twitter.com/bSYJfa4sTw
— Toledo Football (@ToledoFB) April 28, 2018
Swanson is mainly known for his vision and breakaway speed, which allows him to constantly break away for big plays and get big chunks of yardage when needed. This is exhibited by the whopping 5.9 yards per carry he averaged at Toledo.
Another strength of his is, well, his strength. Swanson can run over defenders and get important short yardage gains. He is also a gym rat, which led to him being one of the strongest running backs in the 2018 draft class.
All of these traits have led to many scouts likening Swanson to his former teammate: Kareem Hunt. This makes a lot of sense, as Swanson had to learn under Hunt while at Toledo, and already told the Houston Chronicle that he, “took from his film study each and every day.” Although Swanson isn’t as agile, elusive, or powerful as Hunt – the comparison is still promising – and he could nonetheless become a productive NFL running back in the future.
.@AaronWilson_NFL Texans hope Terry Swanson is next Kareem Hunt https://t.co/BGMTPcZVci via @HoustonChron
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) May 17, 2018
The second reason why I see Swanson breaking out next season is because the incumbent running backs, D’Onta Foreman and Lamar Miller, were not efficient last season. Miller had the worst statistical season of his entire career, with backup Alfred Blue even starting to challenge him for carries towards the end of 2017.
And although I do think Foreman will turn heads next season, I also believe the torn achilles he suffered is extremely concerning. After all, there is a reason why the Texans were interested in drafting and/or signing running backs this offseason.

Overall, I still see Miller and Foreman receiving more carries, simply because they are far more talented than Swanson. But nonetheless, I still expect Swanson to steal reps and push for a larger workload in the future due to Miller’s declining performance and Foreman’s injury concerns.
Although he may not be Kareem Hunt, Terry Swanson is still a rookie to watch out for in 2018.
-
Ep 158: Billy "White Shoes" Johnson Joins The Showby Full Press Coverage on June 4, 2023 at 2:05 am
Former Oilers star Billy "White Shoes" Johnson joins Clark and Ira to […]
-
Ep 157: Colts Owner Jim Irsay Joins The Showby Full Press Coverage on May 27, 2023 at 7:24 pm
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay joins Clark and Ira to discuss his Top […]
-
These Players still in Transfer Portal can help teams this Seasonby LandryFootball.com on June 4, 2023 at 3:10 pm
The college football transfer portal's top available player is finally off […]
-
You MUST know these Transfer Portal Guys this Seasonby LandryFootball.com on June 3, 2023 at 12:45 pm
Choosing a single impact transfer for each conference proved difficult. […]
-
Ep 287: BLeague Brings His A-Gameby Full Press Coverage on June 1, 2023 at 4:41 pm
-
Ep 286: FPC Dynasty Rookie Draftby Full Press Coverage on May 26, 2023 at 3:01 pm
-
Ep 285: Draft Discussions Dominatingby Full Press Coverage on May 18, 2023 at 4:38 pm
-
Ep 284: Recapping Rookie Dynasty Draftsby Full Press Coverage on May 11, 2023 at 12:59 pm
-
Episode 3.11: OTAs and Hot Topics w/Sam Fortier from the Washington Postby Full Press Coverage on May 30, 2023 at 9:20 pm
George Carmi hosts Sam Fortier from the Washington Post to discuss the […]
-
Episode 3.10: Commanders Roster and OTAsby Full Press Coverage on May 23, 2023 at 8:53 pm
On the latest episode of the Command the Mic Podcast, George Carmi hosts […]
-
Renegades Of Puck Ep 769by Charlie Saunier on June 4, 2023 at 4:31 am
Ep 769 The Renegades Of Puck Recap Game 5 Preview Game 6 Milwaukee […]
-
Renegades Of Puck Ep 768by Charlie Saunier on June 2, 2023 at 9:19 am
Ep 768 The Renegades Of Puck Recap Game 4 Preview Game 5 Milwaukee […]
-
Full Press Kraken - Thursday, June 1stby Full Press Coverage on June 1, 2023 at 2:00 pm
Kraken have offseason work to do, AHL Playoff update. Learn more about […]
-
Full Press Blackhawks - Thursday, June 1stby Full Press Coverage on June 1, 2023 at 12:15 pm
What could the Blackhawks do to trade up in the 2023 NHL Draft? Who on the […]
-
Full Press Blackhawks - Tuesday, May 30thby Full Press Coverage on May 30, 2023 at 2:30 pm
Does picking Connor Bedard speed up the Blackhawks’ rebuild and few […]
-
Renegades Of Puck Ep 767by Charlie Saunier on May 30, 2023 at 4:01 am
Ep 767 The Renegades Of Puck Recap Game 3 Preview Game 4 Milwaukee […]
-
6/2 - Nuggets Take Game 1, Barry Bonds, Stanley Cup Chat w/ Jim Biringerby Full Press Coverage on June 2, 2023 at 2:03 pm
Ian and John discuss the Nuggets Game 1 win over the Heat, the upcoming […]
-
6/1 - NBA Finals Preview, Aaron Rodgers, and Moreby Full Press Coverage on June 1, 2023 at 1:53 pm
Ian and John discuss Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Nuggets and Heat […]
-
5/30 - Heat Dominate Celtics; Vegas Advances; Jimmy Gby Full Press Coverage on May 30, 2023 at 3:35 pm
Ian and John discuss the Celtics disappointing Game 7 performance against […]
-
5/29 - Celtics/Heat Game 7; DeAndre Hopkins Releasedby Full Press Coverage on May 30, 2023 at 12:12 am
Ian and John discuss Game 7 between the Celtics and Heat as well as the […]
-
5/26 - Celtics Force Game 6; Mahomes QB Listby Full Press Coverage on May 26, 2023 at 2:12 pm
Ian and John discuss the Celtics big Game 5 win the Top 5 quarterbacks of […]
-
5/25 - Panthers Advance To Stanley Cup Finals; Celtics/Heatby Full Press Coverage on May 25, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Ian and John discuss the Celtics and the Heat and welcome in Jim Bringer […]
-
Ep 2: Top 5 Super Bowls Of All Timeby Full Press Coverage on February 7, 2023 at 3:26 pm
Ian Glendon and John Sapochetti give their Top 5 Super Bowls of all time. […]
-
Ep 1: The Top 10 Quarterbacks Of All Timeby Full Press Coverage on January 12, 2023 at 8:42 pm
On the first episode of 'According To Who?', host Ian Glendon and John […]
-
Heat at Nuggetsby Broken Controller Media on June 4, 2023 at 1:30 pm
-
Ep 167: Ahmed Johnsonby Full Press Coverage on June 3, 2023 at 2:00 pm
-
Fight Stack: Final Notesby Full Press Coverage on June 3, 2023 at 11:00 am
-
Full Press MMA - Friday, June 2ndby Full Press Coverage on June 2, 2023 at 11:00 pm
-
6/2 - Nuggets Take Game 1, Barry Bonds, Stanley Cup Chat w/ Jim Biringerby Full Press Coverage on June 2, 2023 at 2:03 pm
-
Fight Stack: Karine Silva vs Ketlen Souzaby Full Press Coverage on June 2, 2023 at 11:00 am
-
Ep. 224: Wisconsin-Whitewater Head Football Coach Jace Rindahlby Full Press Coverage on June 2, 2023 at 5:00 am
-
Full Press MMA - Thursday, June 1stby Full Press Coverage on June 1, 2023 at 11:00 pm
-
Ep. 247 - History and Legacies on the Line in Nuggets vs. Heat NBA Finalsby Full Press Coverage on June 1, 2023 at 10:08 pm
-
Heat at Nuggetsby Broken Controller Media on June 1, 2023 at 5:00 pm
-
Boot 2 The Face "Too Much Wrestling"by Boot 2 The Face on June 1, 2023 at 11:21 pm
Your boys are back talking ALL of the pro wrestling that happened this […]
-
Boot 2 The Face "PPV Predictions"by Boot 2 The Face on May 26, 2023 at 1:06 am
BIG weekend in wrestling and EJ and Rucker are here to predict!AEW Double […]
-
AEW Double or Nothing and Night of Champions Previewby Full Press Coverage on May 26, 2023 at 9:59 pm
Jim is back once again joined by Teddy Repantis as they preview Double or […]
-
What's Next For CM Punk and AEW, The Bloodline, and the Countdown to Double or Nothingby Full Press Coverage on May 23, 2023 at 1:27 pm
Jim is back once again joined by Teddy Repantis as they discuss the launch […]