in 2018, swaim entered the season as the cowboys starting tight end after the sudden retirements of jason witten and hanna. in the third game against the seattle seahawks, he had a career-high 5 receptions. in the fourth game against the detroit lions, swaim scored his first professional touchdown on a one-yard reception from quarterback dak prescott. in the fifth game against the houston texans, he had a career-high 55 receiving yards. he started nine games before suffering a broken bone in his wrist in the week 11 contest against the atlanta falcons. he missed the next four games before being placed on injured reserve on december 22. he was used mostly for blocking purposes, finishing the season with a career-high 26 receptions for 242 yards and one touchdown. he was a solid blocking tight end during his career with the cowboys, that had his development limited by injuries.