AJ Dillon is focused on all the wrong things at Packers training camp

The Green Bay Packers renovated their running back room this offseason. 

The team elected to part ways with longtime starting running back Aaron Jones, who had become a staple in the offensive attack. Shortly after the release of Jones, Green Bay signed former Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs in free agency.

Although Jacobs will serve as the workhorse running back in Green Bay’s offense, there will still be plenty of opportunities for running back AJ Dillon.

Dillon received the first of those opportunities during the Packers preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Although the running back saw limited action, he had an underwhelming performance and received criticism from fans for the lackluster outing.

After the Packers got to a 2nd-and-1 situation, Dillon received three consecutive carries but failed to gain a single yard. He was stopped short on all three carries, including fourth down. Dillon finished with four carries for two yards. 

AJ Dillon got defensive about his poor preseason performance 

Following a training camp practice, Dillon responded to his critics in a locker room interview with Fox11 reporter Cody Krupp. 

“I graded 98 percent,” Dillon said. “If you know football, you watch the tape, and you don’t look at the stats, and you actually put yourself in the game — somebody else go out there and do what I did. That’s just a situation that’s football. Sometimes you have a drive like that where a block doesn’t happen here, a block doesn’t happen there. … There’s no where you’re going to go there in those certain situations.” 

To some extent, Dillon makes a fair point. Fans overvalue statistics to make sense of the unknowns. Without understanding the play call, the protection and the blocking scheme, it’s hard to assign blame to an individual player. 

Regardless, perhaps it would have been better to not throw his offensive linemen under the bus. Dillon only made things worse as he continued to defend himself.

“But in all honesty, if you don’t live inside my house, your opinion to me is so secondary that I couldn’t be bothered with it,” Dillon added. “To anybody on Twitter, you can’t do what we’re doing. Just enjoy, just watch, and I promise you everybody in this building is working their ass off to do the best they can.”

The you-can’t-play argument is often used by some players when they get defensive about a poor performance, and it’s a very misguided way of thinking.

Legendary head coach Bill Belichick could never do what he asks of his players, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that he knows more about football than anyone else in the world.

If Dillon bought a faulty electronic device, he would criticize the manufacturer even if he can’t make electronic devices. If he was served burnt food at a nice restaurant, criticizing the chef would be understandable regardless of the running back’s own cooking expertise.

The examples are endless. Regardless of who was to blame for Dillon’s performance, he will have to find a way to play better moving forward. The 2024 season is a pivotal one for Dillon, who is heading into the fourth and final year of his rookie contract. 

Dillon will have to prove he’s worth a lucrative contract, whether it’s in Green Bay or elsewhere.

When the Packers drafted Dillon in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, they hoped he could serve as the perfect complement to Jones. As a larger running back, Dillon was seen as someone who could carry a heavier load than his smaller counterpart, particularly in short-yardage situations. 

The thunder-and-lightning combination didn’t work out as Green Bay hoped, and now Dillon has one last season to prove his worth.

Green Bay began their preseason slate with a 23-10 win over the Browns. Packers quarterback Jordan Love and wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks were among several players who made a positive impression.