The Dallas Cowboys are a potential landing spot for one of the NFL's best short yardage backs.
As Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus writes, the Cowboys are a potential destination for Green Bay Packers running back AJ Dillon. As Spielberger mentioned, Dallas is in dire need of a short-yardage goal linebacker since releasing Ezekiel Elliott last offseason.
“Dillon brings a unique profile as a short-yardage bruiser with less bursts of explosive growth, which is exactly what Dallas lacked in the low red zone last season,” Spielberger wrote. “Dillon does very well in PFF's system because he has a high success rate and is rarely stuffed in the backfield for negative gains or failed plays. However, his longest rush was 4. Just 40 yards on over 612 carries for the season.”
AJ Dillon helps form NFL's top rushing duo
Dillon has been part of the Packers' two-way rushing attack alongside Aaron Jones for the past three seasons. Despite Jones being the starting back (Dillon has started a combined 11 games over the past three seasons), Dillon has carried the ball at least 178 times and has at least 613 rushing yards in each of the past three seasons. It is recorded.
It's true that Dillon's efficiency declined significantly during the 2023 season — he ran for only 3.4 yards per carry, one of the worst rushing averages among the top 48 rushing leaders — but , it was just one season ago when he ran for 4.1 yards per carry. with seven rushing touchdowns.
Additionally, Dillon's rushing success rate (at least 40% of his required yards on a first down, 60% of his required yards on a second down, and 100% of his required yards on a third or fourth down) during the 2022 season was 56.5%. , was in 9th place. This is the highest score in the league and the fifth highest among all running backs.
Cowboys rushing attack with Tony Pollard stalled in 2023
Former backup Tony Pollard took over as lead back, and while the Cowboys' rushing attack remained respectable, it wasn't as dynamic in the red zone as it was last season. Dallas ranked 14th in rushing yards, 15th in touchdowns and 20th in yards per attempt during the 2023 season.
By comparison, the Cowboys with the combination of Pollard and Elliott ranked ninth in rushing yards and second in rushing touchdowns in the 2022 season. Additionally, Pollard had nine rushing touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns out of 232 total touches in the 2022 season, ranking in the top 10 in both rushing and rushing/receiving touchdowns. In other words, Pollard scored a touchdown every 19.3 touches.
However, he scored just six touchdowns out of a total of 307 during the 2023 season, meaning he scored a touchdown every 51.1 touches.
To make matters worse, the Cowboys dropped from the top red zone offense in the 2022 season to 12th in red zone offense in the 2023 season.
According to Spotrac projections, Dillon has a market value of just $3.6 million for the year.
The Cowboys could re-sign Pollard or draft another running back cheaply to pair with Dillon in the 2024 NFL Draft. In doing so, Dallas would return to the running back duo strategy that has been successful the past few seasons, rather than relying on a single back to man the backfield.
