Jamaal Williams, AJ Dillon's Updated Fantasy Outlook with Aaron Jones Injured
October 25, 2020
Fantasy managers will be keeping a close eye on the Green Bay Packers backfield after Aaron Jones suffered a calf injury.
He was ruled inactive for Sunday's game against the Houston Texans, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Jones was a fantasy superstar in 2019 with 1,558 yards from scrimmage and 19 total touchdowns on 285 touches. The fourth-year running back finished eighth among all players with 314.8 fantasy points in PPR leagues last year, per Fantasy Pros.
He has kept it up in 2020 with 550 yards from scrimmage and a league-high seven touchdowns in his first five games.
Replacing Jones will likely turn into a competition between Jamaal Williams and rookie A.J. Dillon. It may say a lot about how much Green Bay's coaching staff values Dillon that he was selected in the second round (No. 62 overall) ahead of a wide receiver.
Dillon turned heads during training camp with his impressive physique:
While Dillon's role with the offense has yet to be determined, Mike Tagliere of FantasyPros noted second-round running backs have historically been given a lot of touches:
"Over the last seven years, running backs drafted in the second round average 172.3 touches in their rookie season. Dillon is just an early-down back, so he'll be extremely touchdown dependent. Knowing how good Jones has been in that role, it's tough to take him off the field, so I'm fine with going the wait-and-see approach with Dillon (and every other non-Jones back in this backfield)."
Williams is the safer bet between the two running backs to fill Jones' large shoes. The 25-year-old averaged a career-high 4.9 yards per touch last year and tied his career high with six total touchdowns.
Per Fantasy Pros, Williams finished 34th among running backs with 146.3 points in PPR leagues last year. That's a respectable total for a backup who only had five games with at least 10 carries.
He also has 46 touches this season compared to just 13 for Dillon.
Green Bay finished 13th in the NFL last season with 411 rushing attempts. Everything the front office did in the offseason suggests the organization wants to make a greater commitment to running the ball.
Williams should become a fantasy starter for your roster with Jones out of action. He's got RB2 upside and is available in 51 percent of Yahoo leagues and 70 percent of ESPN leagues.
The hype around Dillon has died down since earlier in the season, making him available in most leagues. The Boston College alum is currently on 12 percent of Yahoo league rosters and four percent of ESPN rosters, per FantasyPros.
If Dillon gets the bulk of the touches, he's going to be worth starting each week and has the ceiling of an RB2.