It might be a long shot, but Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon of the Green Bay Packers could have a legitimate chance to accomplish a rare feat of rushing during the 2022 season.
In the history of the NFL, only five pairs of running back teammates have ever both rushed for over 1,000 yards in a single season. The last one? DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart of the Carolina Panthers in 2009, so it’s been well over a decade since a pair of running-back teammates both hit the 1,000-yard milestone in the same season.
Can Jones and Dillon end the drought?
It would take an incredible season from both, but the Packers are evolving on offense after losing Davante Adams, and Jones and Dillon are going to get the ball a ton during the 2022 season. If both stay healthy and the run-blocking of the offensive line improves even incrementally, they’ll have a chance.
In 2021, Jones and Dillon both went over 1,000 total yards but came up short of 1,000 rushing yards. Jones rushed 171 times for 799 yards in 15 games; Dillon rushed 187 times for 803 yards in 17 games.
Back in 2009, Stewart rushed 221 times for 1,133 yards in 16 games and Williams rushed 216 times for 1,117 yards in 13 games. Both Stewart and Williams averaged over 5.0 yards per carry. And both were over 70.0 yards per game.
The extra game gives the Packers’ duo an advantage.
Over a 17-game schedule, both Jones and Dillon would both need to average 58.8 rushing yards per game for each player to get to 1,000 rushing yards.
Of course, the Packers are still led by Aaron Rodgers, the back-to-back NFL MVP, and throwing the football is still going to be a major part of what Matt LaFleur’s team tries to accomplish. Instead of a significant uptick in carries for Jones and Dillon, the pair may catch more passes in an attempt to fill the void left by Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
If the carries didn’t increase for either player in 2022, the efficiency would need to: Jones would have to average 5.8 yards per carry, while Dillon would have to average 5.3 yards. This is a long way of saying both players almost certainly need more carries to get to 1,000 rushing yards.
It’s all a possibility worth monitoring for one of the NFL’s best running back duos in 2022, especially if Jones and Dillon get off to a hot start or catch fire at some point during the regular season.
Over a decade ago, Williams and Stewart were a slash-and-smash duo for the run-heavy Panthers. In 2022, Jones and Dillon complement each other in similar ways and will play featured roles for the Packers.
“We’re fortunate, we’ve got two No. 1 backs,” LaFleur said earlier this year. “We’re super excited about those guys.”
Can an evolving Packers offense and the extraordinary talents of Jones and Dillon create the first 1,000-yard rushing duo since 2009?