AJ Dillon handles four carries vs. Browns

Dillon will step into the main backup role for Week 3 after Jonathon Brooks (groin) wound up on injured reserve. There’s no real timeshare here; Hubbard will be the main back. But Dillon could cut into PPR point territory as Panthers OC Brad Idzik was described as “pleasantly surprised” by the veteran’s receiving ability.

Dillon missed all of the 2024 season while recovering from a neck injury he suffered late in the previous year. He returned in 2025 on a one-year deal with the Eagles. Dillon appeared in the first six games of the year but eventually fell off the game-day roster with Philly’s addition of Tank Bigsby. He finished the season with 12 carries for 60 yards. Dillon will be fighting for a roster spot in Carolina during training camp.

Will Shipley will assume second RB duties, with Tank Bigsby perhaps working in more on offense after the mini-bye. Active for the Eagles are OL Landon Dickerson (ankle) and DT Jalen Carter (heel), the latter of whom was questionable.

It’s only an estimated report, but an estimated DNP is still concerning for Barkley, who has struggled on the ground to start the season. We’ll see if things change come Tuesday when the Eagles actually hold a practice, but this is clearly something worth monitoring until we receive word that Barkley is in the clear for Thursday night’s game against the Giants. If Barkley is unable to go, A.J. Dillon could be in line to handle early-down touches while Will Shipley mixes in on passing downs.

Shipley didn’t practice all week with his “oblique” injury (reports are that he is dealing with fractured ribs) and is a candidate to be placed on injured reserve on Saturday. Tank Bigsby will take Shipley’s role in the offense, although it is possible that AJ Dillon gets more snaps as the Eagles figure out how they want to implement the newly-acquired Bigsby.

Dillon forced one missed tackle along the way. Reports have suggested that Dillon is playing well as a pass catcher, and his preseason showing reflected that. He appears to be in the hunt for the No. 2 job.

Dillon caught just 21 passes in three seasons at Boston College, but surprised everyone in 2021 when he caught 34 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns. He would go on to catch 28 passes in 2022 and had another 22 receptions in 2023, suggesting he had more to offer in the passing game than we initially believed. Dillon missed all of 2024 with a neck injury and signed a one-year contract with the Eagles this offseason. He’s currently battling with Will Shipley for RB2 duties behind Saquon Barkley, but Graziano believes Dillon “would be the one to benefit the most” if Barkley were to ever miss time. He also noted that he expects Shipley to have a role regardless of Barkley’s health, although we wouldn’t expect that to turn into a reliable one for fantasy managers given Barkley’s bell cow usage. Both Dillon and Shipley make for interesting stashes in an offense that ranked second in neutral rush rate last season (52 percent), but it’s hard to imagine anybody but Barkley having standalone value on a week-to-week basis.

Shipley was a fourth-round pick out of Clemson last year and played sparingly out of the RB3 role. Mosher is watching how the 22-year-old will step up to fill the back-up running back role that Kenneth Gainwell - who departed for the Steelers - occupied last season. Gainwell was important in pass protection and a good presence when Saquon Barkley was out on possessions for blitz pickup and pass-catching. Mosher says, “if Shipley can show growth in those areas, he could undertake Gainwell’s role and give the offense even more optionality.” The Eagles added AJ Dillon in the offseason, though Dillon is more of a downhill-runner than a third-down back for the RB2 role. Shipley won’t have much value in redraft leagues, but could find his way to production through filling in an open role in the Eagles backfield.

Earlier this week, it was announced that Dillon had been fully cleared to return to football after battling a neck injury that occurred late in 2023. The 26-year-old will now make his return to the field with the defending champions, hoping to provide some thump as a backup to Saquon Barkley. Dillon has averaged just 4.1 yards per carry in his four-year NFL career, and that number has decreased every year he’s been in the league. He’s also not much of a pass-catching option with only one season of more than 30 catches; however, he does have 18 touchdowns and could be a solid short-yardage or red-zone option when the Eagles want to give Barkley a breather.

Dillon suffered a stinger late in the 2023 season that knocked him out for Green Bay’s final few games of the year. The injury didn’t appear to be major at first, but Dillon was still dealing with it when training camp rolled around in the summer. The Packers eventually placed him on season-ending injured reserve. Dillon ran for 613 yards at a lumbering 3.4 yards per carry in 2023 and doesn’t have any value as a pass-catcher. He will be forced to sign a one-year, prove-it deal on the open market.