Aaron Jones vs. A.J. Dillon: Has Dillon Earned More Touches for Packers?

The Green Bay Packers remain in the lead of the NFC North with a 7-2 overall record. Despite some drama surrounding quarterback Aaron Rodgers and his vaccination status, the Packers are a team that could make a run in the playoffs. 

That is, if Aaron Rodgers remains healthy. After Week 9’s game with Jordan Love under center it became clear that the Packers offense won’t operate without him. His arm was missed in both the passing and rushing game and the Packers looked stiff and stale on offense. 

The Packers were hoping that their running back duo of Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon would help pick up the slack but there was just to much ground to make up. Without a threatening passing game, the Chiefs had an easy time stuffing the Packers’ rushing attempts. 

So, can either of these two running backs step up in Week 10 and help this team win? Aaron Rodgers is expected back but in order to make a playoff run, the Packers will need more than just him. 

So, which of these two running backs can be expected to chip in more? Which deserves it more? Let's take a look and make some predictions. 

Let’s start with the starter, Aaron Jones. Jones is having a fine season for the Packers. He ranks 10th in attempts and 11th in yards after nine games. Where his game has been lacking is in the touchdown department. Jones is tied for 18th in the league with just three rushing touchdowns and his 4.4 YPC average is 21st.

Things went from average to worse in Week 9 against the Chiefs. Jones had just 12 carries for 53 yards. He failed to find the end zone and failed to catch either pass thrown to him by Love. What makes this performance troubling is how bad the Chiefs have been at stopping the run. Many lesser back have done a lot more with similar touches against them. As the season progresses, Jones has slowly been losing touches to Dillon. In Weeks 2-4, Jones had 17,19 and 15 carries respectively. Since then, Jones has averaged just 12 carries per game including si in the Packers' 24-10 win over Washington a couple of weeks ago. 

Dillon’s usage has been a bit more of a quagmire this season. He saw a season high 16 carries in Week 8 against the Cardinals. He managed 78 yards on those touches and caught four passes for 44 yards. But, the week before he saw just three carries and eight the week after. This is a little but confusing to me as, according to the stats, Dillon is making more with limited touches than Jones is with the lion’s share. Dillon is 18th in the NFL with an average of 4.7 yards per carry. He has zero touchdowns so far this season. 

I think the big takeaway here is that the Packers are not a run-first team. They might not even be a run-second or third team. With Aaron Rodgers under center, why would you? But, there is a chance that he misses his second straight game. So then what do you do? It seems lose is probably the answer. The Packers aren’t set up to sustain a powerful running game and that wont change in a week. As far as who deserves more work? I think Dillon needs to be involved more in both the passing and rushing game. He has shown himself to be capable, but hasn’t gotten the consistent work required to prove he can lead a team.