Green Bay Packers: Why wasn’t AJ Dillon Used More against Carolina?

With Jamaal Williams injured during Saturday’s game, I have to say I’m surprised that we didn’t see more AJ Dillon for the Green Bay Packers.

When it comes to the Green Bay Packers’ running back unit, this is Aaron Jones’ and Jamaal Williams’ team–as it should be. Jones has established himself as one of the better backs in football, while Williams is a well-rounded back in his own right, who is effective as a runner, in the passing game, and as a blocker.

With that said, I am surprised that we haven’t seen more of AJ Dillon this season when he’s been available. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a time recently where a second-round running back has been brought along so slowly. However, most teams who draft a second-round running back don’t have Jones and Williams in their backfield already. So I get it; more snaps for Dillon means less for those two.

But what I didn’t get this past Saturday during the Carolina game was how little Dillon was used despite Williams being out of the game. Williams played only four snaps before leaving with a thigh injury. Right away we saw Dillon on the field, and it included an impressive 19-yard run. However, that was about all we would see of him as he totaled only five offensive snaps.

Now, I’ll say it again, Jones should be getting a bulk of the snaps. This shouldn’t be a 50-50 split by any means. But with Williams out, Dillon was RB2, and albeit it was only one carry, he was highly effective and deserving of additional attempts–especially with the run game having so much success.

At Boston College, Dillon averaged over 281 rushing attempts per season, with two years topping the 300 mark. He was built to run the football. But at the NFL level, it takes more than just being a ball carrier in most instances to be successful. Running backs need to be effective pass-catchers and reliable pass-blockers as well.

Admittedly, these are two areas that Dillon needs to work on; so perhaps this one reason why he saw just five snaps against the Panthers. The coaching staff may not have that trust in him as a blocker, and when on the field, he could very well be a last resort in the passing game. Meaning, opposing defenses don’t have to worry about him as much, which takes away some of that unpredictability that Matt LaFleur strives for.

This is me just making an educated guess at this point. Maybe I’m on to something; maybe I’m not. Yet what we do know is that the Green Bay Packers’ coaching staff abandoned the run game way too quickly in the second half against Carolina. LaFleur even said so after the game:

"“I thought we were running the ball really effective, probably got away from the run a little bit too much, especially early on in that second half,” LaFleur told Packers News. “Probably should have stuck with it.”"

Who knows if Dillon would have had the same kind of success — although judging by his only carry of the game, I’m guessing he would have been alright — but Jones finished the game with 145 rushing yards on an impressive 7.3 yards per carry. You could tell that Carolina’s goal was to take away the Packers’ passing attack as much as possible, which meant light boxes and run-friendly defensive formations for Green Bay to run at. But still no Dillon.

Ultimately, the Green Bay Packers still won the game, which in the end, is all that matters. But how LaFleur and company utilized Dillon on Saturday night still has me scratching my head. As I’ve already said, when both Jones and Williams are healthy, I get why we don’t see much of Dillon—it makes sense. But in this instance, Williams was out injured and the Panthers couldn’t stop the Green Bay running game.