AJ Dillon ready for his role as a tough running back alongside Saquon Barkley and the Eagles O-line
Dillon was cleared to play after missing all of last season with a neck injury, and from afar, he has seen the style of football that Barkley and the Eagles play being a fit for him — and those quads.
It’s been a while since curiosity or ego drove AJ Dillon to load up a squat rack for one max rep, but it’s not lost on the new Eagles running back that that could soon change.
After signing a one-year deal with the team earlier this week, the 6-foot, 247-pound runner nicknamed “QuadZilla” may have found a worthy thigh rival at his position in Saquon Barkley. Considering Barkley and Jalen Hurts, also known for squatting 600 pounds during his time at Oklahoma, had a friendly lifting competition last offseason, Dillon said he’ll be ready for any potential rematches this summer.
“The most I’ve ever squatted I want to say was 615 [pounds,] but I was in high school,” Dillon said. “I haven’t max squatted, I will put that out there, I haven’t max squatted since sophomore year of college. We’ve been going for reps. But we’ll have to put some extra weight on there this offseason to get ready for the comp.”
“The quads, yeah, there’s a lot of quads over here,” Dillon added.
Jokes aside, Dillon’s addition should give the Eagles yet another punishing presence on an offense that has earned a reputation for much of the same. The 26-year-old spent the first four years of his career with the Packers serving as the complementary force in a backfield committee with former Green Bay running back Aaron Jones.
Dillon missed all of last season after suffering a pair of stinger injuries in the span of a year, though, leaving some question as to how he’ll fare upon his return. He missed three games in 2023 with the initial injury, compiling 613 rushing yards and 223 receiving yards in 15 games.
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When asked about the injury, Dillon said Friday that he was cleared by multiple specialists from across the country at the end of the season and wasn’t worried about reinjury as a result. The former Boston College standout also noted he has resumed training in Florida this offseason without limitation.
“We’ve met with specialists from the East Coast, West Coast, everywhere,” Dillon said. “I’m good to go, I’ve got the green light. … Originally, when you get that kind of news you always want to be cautious and make sure you’re ticking all your boxes and doing all the proper checks and balances, but I’ve got all the green lights, so I’m feeling good. I don’t step on the football field thinking about what could and ‘What if?’ That’s how you end up getting hurt playing this game. I’m feeling good, I feel confident.”
If he can return to full health, Dillon would slot in behind Barkley along second-year running back Will Shipley, the Eagles’ fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft. Kenneth Gainwell served as Barkley’s primary backup last season, compiling 290 rushing yards on 75 carries before signing a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this week.
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It’s possible the Eagles could use Dillon and Shipley to spell Barkley more next season, considering the 28-year-old led the league with 378 touches even after sitting out the regular-season finale for rest.
Spending part of his high school career in Connecticut, Dillon said he has been following Barkley’s career since the All-Pro running back’s time at Penn State. Dillon said he has long admired Barkley’s ability to fire up teammates with highlight plays, something he feels running backs are particularly capable of because of their role on the team.
“When I look at the running back position, I think they’re an energizer,” Dillon said. “You see those Energizer Bunny commercials back in the day, that’s what the running back position can really give to your team. You can break off a good, tough run, the offensive line gets juiced up. You catch it out of the backfield and the receivers get juiced up. That’s what I’ve seen Saquon do throughout his career, but also last year in particular. Down that stretch, you get into the playoff run in January and stuff, you can see when he breaks off a long run, everybody is fired up.”
Dillon called his free-agency experience a “whirlwind,” but he said he considered the Eagles an ideal fit because of the physical approach they’ve adopted on offense, aligning well with his playing style.
“My agents called and said there was some interest from Philly and it could be a great fit,” Dillon said. “When I look at what this team has done, not only last year and in years past leading up to this Super Bowl run, as a running back, as a guy who loves to play good, hard, tough football, this is something I want to be a part of.
“If you’re a football fan, you know about the Eagles’ offensive line. I’m definitely excited to meet firsthand and get out there and compete with those guys, run behind them and earn their trust.”