Washington Denzel Post
Why you should buy AJ Dillon
By: Joseph Anastasio
Aaron Jones proved enough last season to own a lion’s share of the backfield. Jones finished last season as FF PPR RB#2 with 19 total TD’s and 1558 Total yards. After having a year like that one would assume the backfield is Jones unquestioned right?
Some doubt was casted when Green Bay selected the phenomenal AJ Dillon with the 62nd overall pick. Was this a sign that GB doesn’t plan on resigning Aaron Jones? Some speculate that Green Bay has had enough of Aaron Rodgers. One of AR’s good buddies on the roster is none other than Aaron Jones. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Green Bay happens to select a QB with the first pick and a RB with the second just because they are inadequate at drafting. I don’t believe that Jordon Love is the long term answer in Green Bay, but I do believe AJ Dillon has a bright future in Green Bay.
AJ Dillon is a guy you are holding on to for next year with hopes you see some of that magic this year. On paper the 6’0, 240 LBS looks like a plodder. I challenge you to look at some of his game play, I assure he’s much more than that. AJ Dillon is a lot more nimble than one would think. His 40 was 4.53, faster than Henry, his Vertical 41.0 Better than Henry and Fournette, Bench Press, better than Henry, Broad Jump 131, better than Henry and 3 Cone 7.19, also better than Henry. I’m comparing him to players of his size and NFL Success. While his speed and burst show off his explosiveness and leg strength, even his three-cone drill score was 0.06 seconds below the target score of 7.25 seconds. This gives credence to the thought that he has decent agility and change of direction.
Here is my source.
Only 8 other RB’s in history have weighed more than 240 and ran faster than a 4.55 40 are the following, SJax, Forunette, Henry, Beanie Wells, and TJ Duckett. This alone shines some light onto his future. Dillon can run both a zone and power system. The popular thing most are saying is he can’t catch, which I believe I not true. A.J. Dillon caught only 21 passes during his 3 seasons at Boston College. On paper this looks like he was not utilized much at all in the passing game. But if you dig a little deeper since 2013 when coach Steve Addazio took over as head coach, his system wasn’t built for pass catching backs, so he didn’t utilize that for his offense. From 2014 to 2017 Joh Hillman caught 29 Passes. From 2017 to 2019 Travis Levy caught 36 passes. So to say he can’t catch passes is unfair because when Dillon was called upon to last season he caught 13 passes for 195 yards putting his YPC at 15. On film Dillon appears to be an adequate pass catcher, and Green Bay seems to thin so as well
“In our offense, there’s probably more room for his creativity than what he did at Boston College, and a lot more in the passing game,” Gutekunst said during a conference call with reporters on Friday night. “As we went through the process in the spring, his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield for a man his size was something – again, he didn’t do a lot of it at Boston College – but it was attractive to us.”
“What surprised me is, you might not see it much during games, but you go to practice and you see him running routes and see him catching the football. And he’s got real good hands,” Owen said. “His receiving game is actually further along than you might believe. That’s just an added element to his game. He does have pass-catching ability.”
“The Packers said they were impressed with the way Dillon caught the football and ran routes at the combine, giving them added confidence that he could contribute in the passing game at the next level.”
One has to understand the bland play calling at BC has more to blame than Dillon’s ability to catch passes.
The knock on him he comes out of college with A LOT of usage 850 TOT. So his long term success in not showing favoritism. Dillon doesn’t get his pads low enough for a guy of his size making him an easy target to get tackled. On some plays Dillon didn’t show patients for lanes to open up, but this is something that can be corrected. Also his lack of breakaway speed will prevent him from making this long homerun’s.
At his current price, his upside is of the RB’s I mentioned. I made sure to buy him up where I could and plan on doing so where I can. I am very excited to own a piece of this guy.
Only time will tell if he has future success…..
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