The Green Bay Packers swapped Aaron Jones for Josh Jacobs and drafted MarShawn Lloyd in the third round, but veteran running back A.J. Dillon isn’t going gentle into that good night as he enters training camp and prepares for an important fifth season.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur thinks Dillon — who returned on a one-year deal — is both physically and mentally prepared to have his best season.
“This is the best I’ve seen him. Hands down. And I think he’d tell you the same,” LaFleur said before Tuesday’s training camp practice. “It’s a testament to the work he’s put in. He came back and he’s in great shape. I was joking with him the other day, you can see the abs on him. That’s hard for a big man to do. He looks like he’s in great shape, I think he’s in a great place mentally. Obviously, we know what he’s capable of doing. I think he’s in a really good position to show his best.”
Dillon had his worst season by success rate, yards per carry and yards per touch last season. He averaged only 3.4 yards per carry, down almost a full yard from his average between 2020 and 2022, and he struggled to break tackles and create explosive plays.
Could a productive offseason fuel a return to 2021 performance levels for Dillon?
As a second-year player, Dillon averaged 4.3 yards per carry and produced a successful run on 61.0 percent of his carries. Together with Jones, Dillon provided one half of the league’s most dynamic running back duo in 2021. The production and efficiency just weren’t there the last two years, and now Dillon — with competition above and below him on the depth chart — is entering a make-or-break training camp.
Jacobs, an All-Pro, will be the new No. 1 back in Green Bay, and it’s possible he’ll handle a bigger workload than Jones. Lloyd, a third-round pick, has all the talent necessary to win the No. 2 job if he can overcome an early hip injury during camp. Even Emanuel Wilson, the NFL’s rushing leader in the preseason last summer, has an opportunity to win a roster spot over Dillon this summer.
But a bounce back season from Dillon would be huge for the Packers. His physically demanding running style and ability to create out of the backfield — he once caught 34 of 37 targets in 2021 — would provide an excellent complement to Jacobs in the Jordan Love offense.
Dillon might be on the roster bubble, but he’s put himself in position to play his best football in 2024.
Hear more from LaFleur on Tuesday below: