Fansided

AJ Dillon signing his deal with the Packers and now the pressure is on

By Josh Hill

PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 30: AJ Dillon #2 of the Boston College Eagles reacts after rushing for a touchdown during the third quarter against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Heinz Field on November 30, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 30: AJ Dillon #2 of the Boston College Eagles reacts after rushing for a touchdown during the third quarter against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Heinz Field on November 30, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

AJ Dillon officially signed his rookie deal with the Green Bay Packers, which means the future is now. 

Whether or not Matt LaFluer’s vision for the Green Bay Packers pans out is irrelevant to the fact that the new era has arrived. By drafting Jordan Love in the first round of this year’s draft, and then subsequently making further curious decisions, LaFluer’s fingerprints are all over Green Bay and now we get to see what that will look like.

Aside from drafting Love, the Packers raised eyebrows by selecting Boston College running back AJ Dillon in the second-round — a lot higher than a team with an established running back would take such a swing.

That’s what LaFluer and the Packers did, however, as the idea seems to be to pair Dillon with Aaron Jones and give Aaron Rodgers offensive weapons he’s lacked throughout most of his career.

Dillon’s deal was made official on Wednesday.

https://twitter.com/ajdillon7/status/1278366712291868672

Why is there so much added pressure on AJ Dillon in Green Bay?

It’s easy to troll a team on Draft Day when it comes to reaches and peculiar picks. The Packers were full of those this year, from Love to Dillon to not getting Rodgers the weapons we all thought he needed.

Dillon is going to boost the running game, but receivers are what Rodgers needed and this class was historically deep at that position. That’s what made it even more shocking when Green Bay traded up with top talent still on the board and took Jordan Love instead of Tee Higgins or Michael Pittman Jr.

What that did, both to Love and by extension Dillon (who is *checks notes* not a wide receiver), is add pressure for success. Dillon was already a top-rated running back and was likely going to enter the 2020 season with enough expectations. Now there’s the added pressure of being in a class that fans generally disliked and being put on a stage to succeed in ways he otherwise may not have been expected to.

There are far worse offenses to be in and have expectations on you than one led by Aaron Rodgers. Dillon’s selection puzzled fans, but now the pressure is on to live up to the hype and prove to everyone that no mistakes were made.

Home/NFL