That's the opinion of head coach John Longmire, after the club elevated Shane Biggs to the senior list this week, the fourth young Swan to be afforded the honour in 2013.
Last season, the Swans enjoyed a relatively good run with injuries and had a mostly settled list as they marched to the premiership.
It has been a very different story this year, with Adam Goodes, Lewis Jetta, Rhyce Shaw, Sam Reid, Lewis Roberts-Thomson and Alex Johnson headlining a host of premiership winners curtailed by injury.
It has meant Dane Rampe, Brandon Jack and Xavier Richards have been introduced to senior football ahead of schedule, with Biggs in the mix to join them when the Swans face Richmond on Sunday.
He would naturally prefer his big guns were available, but the performances of the young Swans have impressed Longmire.
"We've probably got a deeper squad (than last year), but it's hard to argue if you're better placed if you've got Goodes out of the team and Jetta and Reid and those blokes," he told reporters at the SCG on Friday.
"There are some quality players out of our line-up and there's no escaping that fact.
"What has transpired this year is that next group of players who might not have got a chance without the injuries, have had a chance.
"And they haven't just played one week and gone out of the team, they've been able to play a number of weeks and consolidate their spots in the team and add to our depth across the entire squad.
"We think that's a good thing for this year, but also for future years."
Longmire said Gary Rohan is making better than expected progress from his broken leg and he and Rhyce Shaw are pushing for senior selection in the coming weeks.
He also conceded it was "fair to say" Biggs was a long way from playing senior football at the start of this season.
But the 21-year-old from the Bendigo Bombers, who was in his second and final year on the rookie list, has improved dramatically.
"There's probably a number of players in that basket that have been really well developed as far as their football is concerned this year," Longmire said.
"They've been able to do that by training hard and really just applying themselves and following the lead of the senior players.
"Brandon Jack is another one we wouldn't have thought (would be playing senior football), Dane Rampe obviously, Jed Lamb we were hoping would play a bit of senior footy.
"Those blokes have come in and contributed to the team and Biggs is a chance to add to that list."
While veterans Goodes, Ryan O'Keefe, Jude Bolton and Roberts-Thomson are still key contributors when fit, Longmire knows the importance of planning for the future.
But his No.1 priority remains winning games right now.
The fourth-placed Swans will take a four-game winning streak into Sunday and Longmire is wary of the improving Tigers.
"Last week against a high-pressure team in Fremantle they were really good," he said.
"Over the last three weeks their pressure has gone through the roof, their tackling, they're the No.1 team at centre bounces, they've got enormous talent through their midfield and they've got one of the best key forward targets in the competition (in Jack Riewoldt).
"So they've got a really even depth to their squad and they're a formidable opponent."
James Dampney is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter @AFL_JD
