AJ Dillon missed all last season with the Packers. Can he thrive as Eagles’ power back to spell Saquon Barkley?
A neck injury cost Dillon the 2024 season, but the Eagles are adding the power back as depth behind Barkley.
The Eagles added even more firepower to their backfield Wednesday, agreeing to terms with former Green Bay Packers running back AJ Dillon, according to league sources.
The deal came a few hours after the league year turned over and after Kenneth Gainwell reportedly agreed to join the Pittsburgh Steelers on a one-year deal, making the switch toward Dillon a one-for-one swap of backups for star running back Saquon Barkley.
Dillon, 26, was a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft out of Boston College. The 6-foot, 247-pound power back has been effective both in short-yardage situations and catching passes out of the backfield during his career, but he missed all of last season with a neck injury after suffering a stinger at the end of the 2023 season. According to NFL Network, Dillon was cleared to return by a neck specialist this offseason.
Before the injury, Dillon compiled 2,428 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns over the course of four seasons, splitting carries and serving as a complementary force with former Packers running back Aaron Jones. His best year came in 2021, when he ran for 803 yards on 187 carries while also catching 34 passes for 313 yards. In 2023, he had 613 rushing yards and 223 receiving yards before suffering the injury in Week 17, but notably averaged a career-low 3.4 yards per carry that season.
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If he can return to his previous level, Dillon should offer the Eagles a bruising runner to spell Barkley with a track record of being productive in short-yardage situations. He has averaged 2.96 yards after contact during his career, according to Pro Football Focus. By comparison, Barkley has averaged 3.07 during his career and 3.22 last season.
The Eagles made Barkley the highest-paid running back in NFL history last week, extending the 28-year-old through the 2028 season on a deal with an average annual value north of $20 million. The team also has 2024 fourth-round pick Will Shipley in line to take on an expanded role in the backfield, giving the Eagles sufficient depth behind Barkley, who led the NFL with 378 total touches in a historic regular season that ended with him surpassing the 2,000-yard mark in 16 games.
The Eagles also agreed to re-sign utility player Ben VanSumeren on Wednesday and listed him as a fullback, even changing his position from linebacker on the team website, further indicating the effort to reinforce the physical presence of a backfield that was already known for it.
After switching to a run-first approach early in the year, the Eagles offense formed an identity around physicality and compiled a league-high 621 rushing attempts in the regular season. Those attempts sparingly featured VanSumeren, who played 22 offensive snaps before suffering a season-ending knee injury during a November practice.
Figures for Dillon’s deal are unclear, but it’s unlikely he’ll count against the three compensatory picks the Eagles are in line to receive for Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, and Isaiah Rodgers after each member of last year’s defense signed elsewhere in the early going of free agency. It’s worth mentioning the Eagles went into the league year with $24 million in effective cap space, according to the online database Over the Cap.