swaim was selected by the dallas cowboys in the seventh round (246th overall) of the 2015 nfl draft. the cowboys traded their sixth round pick (178th overall) in the 2016 nfl draft to the san francisco 49ers in exchange for a seventh round pick after it became apparent swaim was considering signing with the san diego chargers if he had become an undrafted free agent. swaim was the 17th tight end drafted in 2015.