AJ Dillon (ankle) back at practice on Wed.

He didn’t practice all week. With Jonathon Brooks also out, it seems likely that Trevor Etienne will be activated to serve as Chuba Hubbard’s main backup. Hubbard will project to get most of the volume here and has stumbled into high-end RB2 value this week.

The Panthers’ backup running back is on track to return this week against the Eagles, while fellow backup A.J. Dillon (ankle) may need more time off. Dillon was unable to practice at all today. Etienne can be stashed in 12-team formats, though he may only qualify as FLEX-viable if he were to get a fill-in start at some point.

With Jonathon Brooks joining Trevor Etienne on injured reserve, Dillon was indeed the Panthers’ No. 2 back behind Chuba Hubbard. Good for him, though Pro Football Focus charted him with zero first half snaps. Were Hubbard to ever go down with injury, Dillion would form some sort of committee with a practice squad elevation or free agent addition.

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.