AJ

Dillon

The Packers on Tuesday placed AJ Dillon on season-ending injured reserve. Meanwhile, rookie MarShawn Lloyd has struggled mightily and sustained a hamstring injury two weeks ago. Hirschhorn said Wilson, who had 160 yards and a touchdown on 37 rushes in the preseason, is locked in as Green Bay’s RB2. “Wilson is probably RB2 even if, say, Lloyd returns to practice before Week 1,” Hirschhorn told Rotoworld. “Lloyd has barely practiced in the last month. They almost certainly won’t put him out there for a meaningful role right away.” Josh Jacobs will start the year as the team’s lead back, but Wilson is in position to take over as the No. 1 back should Jacobs miss any time.

Packers HC Matt LaFleur told reports last week that Dillon is still working through a neck stinger suffered in 2023 while also managing a hamstring strain. The development gives rookie MarShawn Lloyd another chance to earn standalone fantasy value behind starter Josh Jacobs, who should handle a significant dual-threat workload this year. Lloyd (hamstring) was initially thought to be a candidate for injured reserve but he has evidently made the 53-man roster.

Per LaFleur, Dillon is being held out of practice as a precaution. LaFleur went on to tell reporters, “Anytime you have a repeated injury there’s concern.” Marshawn Lloyd is also out of practice right now. He has missed a large chunk of training camp and is currently dealing with a hamstring issue. If both backs are unavailable for the start of the season, Josh Jacobs would open the year with a tremendous workload. Dillon isn’t worth a dart-throw even in deeper fantasy leagues.

Hirschhorn said on the Rotoworld Football Show that Dillon has impressed during training camp and is positioning himself as the clear second option behind Josh Jacobs, who is dealing with a groin injury. Hirschhorn said rookie RB MarShawn Lloyd, who has a hip injury, could see something of a “red shirt” season in 2024 before being used more in the coming years. Dillon — who has underachieved throughout his NFL career — is reportedly in the best shape of his life and seemingly has a chance to function as Green Bay’s lead back should Jacobs miss time this year.

Packers coaches have spoken glowingly of Lloyd during spring practices and expect him to be involved in the team’s backfield rotation alongside Josh Jacobs, who signed with Green Bay this offseason. Assuming Lloyd’s hip issue is not of the long-term variety, he should function as the team’s RB2 and could be the lead back if Jacobs were to miss time in 2024. AJ Dillon will also factor into the Green Bay backfield if Jacobs misses time. Rotoworld’s Denny Carter recently wrote about the Packers backfield distribution.

“He’s in great shape. I think he’s in a great place mentally,” LaFleur said on the first day of Green Bay training camp. The Packers re-signed Dillon in March after yet another disappointing season in which the big back was among the NFL’s least efficient rushers. Dillon barely cracked 600 rushing yards even with Aaron Jones missing chunks of the regular season in 2023. Josh Jacobs and rookie MarShawn Lloyd would have to miss time for Dillon to see a starter’s workload in the Packers offense this season.

The Packers selected Lloyd with the no. 88 overall pick in this year’s draft. In a Packers mailbag article, Schneidman notes that Lloyd “won’t be the starter, per se,” but added that he won’t ride the bench like we saw AJ Dillon do in his rookie season. Lynch brings a versatile skillset to the Packers’ offense, similar to what we saw from Aaron Jones and what we expect to see from Josh Jacobs. Schneidman also highlighted Lloyd’s shiftiness and explosiveness in traffic. Lloyd will likely open the season as the Packers’ RB2 with a chance to spell Jacobs on third downs. He’s a solid stash late in redraft leagues and has some contingent top-24 PPR upside if Jacobs were ever to miss time.

The Packers have a trio of backs in Lloyd, Josh Jacobs, and AJ Dillon. They selected Lloyd with the No. 88 overall pick in this year’s draft, but it’s hard to know where he could fit in early in the season. The easy answer is third down, as Lloyd caught 34 passes during his college career and averaged an impressive 13.3 YPR. With that said, Jacobs has two 50-catch seasons on his resumé and didn’t sign a four-year, $48 million deal to ride the pine. While we’d expect Lloyd to be on the field plenty as a rookie, he may not have much fantasy upside unless an injury paves a way for more playing time.

“I think the first thing that jumps off to me is just his play style,” LaFleur told reporters on Tuesday, adding that he was not involved in signing the veteran after Green Bay parted ways with Aaron Jones. “Like he is tough, hard-nosed. He can be a high-volume guy. Just studying him, I think there’s more out there for him in regards to the passing game, using him out of the backfield. He’s put some really good choice routes on tape. That’s something we always try to get to. We’ve done it a little bit more down in the red area. But I love the person, just being around him in that brief time when he came into Green Bay.” With 37 receptions over 13 games last year in Vegas, Jacobs was 19th in yards per route run among running backs. Jacobs in 2022 caught 53 passes and ranked 20th in RB yards per route run. If he fills Jones’ role in Green Bay’s offense, Jacobs should be in the 50-reception range in 2024. Despite recent drop off in efficiency, Jacobs should be a top fantasy back as the Packers’ workhorse. The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman said there’s a chance AJ Dillon — who recently re-signed with the Packers on a one-year deal — might not make the team this summer. Only nine running backs in 2023 had a worse rush yards over expected than Dillon, per NextGen Stats. One of those backs was Jacobs.

The Packers just can’t quit one of the league’s least efficient, least explosive committee backs. Dillon didn’t have the juice for the entirety of his just-completed rookie contract, including in 2023 when he couldn’t better 613 yards rushing even with Aaron Jones spending the majority of the year fighting hamstring issues. Dillon averaged one of the league’s worst “rush yards over expected” averages, checking in at -0.36. Neither a goal-line asset nor a true pass catcher, Dillon isn’t even a great blocker. The coaching staff just really, really likes him. With recent addition Josh Jacobs more of a true every-down back than Jones, Dillon should be more of a true “breather back” than the 1B he’s been the past four years.