Packers usage of 2 running back sets not generating desired results
By Paul Bretl
We all wanted to see more of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon on the field together this season, and the Green Bay Packers have provided us with that. However, the results haven’t been great.
Last season, Jones and Dillon were on the field at the same time for only 2% — or 16 total snaps — of the Packers’ offensive play calls, according to Sharp Football–down sharply from the year prior when Green Bay had Jones and Jamaal Williams.
The use of Jones and Dillon at the same time can create added stressors for the opposing defense. The ability that each player brings to the passing game provides Matt LaFleur with more flexibility as a play caller by moving these two around. This then not only creates opportunities for Jones and Dillon but other Green Bay pass catchers with the attention that the two backs draw.
There is also the fact that this is a Packers offense in search of consistent playmaking ability, and certainly Jones, but also Dillon to a lesser extent, are two players who can provide that. The Green Bay run game has generated the seventh most big plays this season, despite Jones and Dillon not always being the focal point of the offense.
Unfortunately, the results when these two have shared the field just haven’t been there. In a recent article by Benjamin Solak of The Ringer, he noted that when the Packers utilize two running backs, they have averaged just 4.09 yards per play as an offense and have a success rate of 37.8%. On the flip side, with one or no running backs on the field, Green Bay is averaging 5.92 yards per play with a 46% success rate. Solak also adds that the Packers’ explosive play rate goes from 13.2% down to 4.4% when going from two to one running backs.
One reason behind their lack of success could be the predictability that comes with these two-back sets. As Justis Mosqueda of Acme Packing Co. wrote, the Packers heavily utilize the split back gun formation with Jones and Dillon, either beginning that way with then one back motioning out or ending up that way with one of the backs motioning in. The play call is then an RPO that often ends in a zone run or a swing screen.
In terms of keeping the defense guessing or opening up the playbook, this style of play isn’t accomplishing either of those things. The Packers went from using their pony package on at least 10 plays against Chicago, Tampa Bay, and New England to only three times against the Giants.
And while these two things may not be directly correlated, Dillon’s role in this offense was reduced fairly significantly on Sunday as well. According to Next Gen Stats, Dillon played just 31% of the Packers’ snaps against New York. He has also seen his role in the passing game cut back, totaling just eight targets over the last four games — including zero verse the Giants — after having six targets in Week 1 alone.
Following the win over Chicago, Aaron Rodgers told reporters that “there’s a lot left in the bag” in terms of play packages the Packers can run with Jones and Dillon on the field together. But based on the results so far, it might be time to dig deeper into that bag.