Green Bay was able to play it smart with Jones thanks to Dillon, who was among the team’s most improved players in 2021.
The former second-round pick stepped into the No. 2 role vacated by Jamaal Williams and led the Packers’ ground game with 803 rushing yards and five TDs.
Dillon also became a favorite in the passing game, catching 34 passes for 313 yards and two TDs in 17 regular-season games. Comparatively, he had just 38 catches for 236 yards and two TDs in 35 college games at Boston College.
Perhaps the greatest measure of Dillon’s value to the offense could be seen in the playoff loss to the 49ers, when a fractured rib suffered on a third-quarter kickoff return forced the 6-foot, 247-pound running back from the game.
With last season’s disappointment behind them, both Jones and Dillon spoke this offseason about their excitement for what the 2022 campaign has in store for the Packers’ backfield.
Factoring into that is the wide-open competition for the No. 3 spot, with undrafted rookies Tyler Goodson and BJ Baylor joining 2021 seventh-round pick Kylin Hill and second-year veteran Patrick Taylor.
Hill won the job coming out of training camp last year and got his rookie season off to a promising start before blowing out his knee on a kickoff return against Arizona in Week 8.
The 5-foot-10, 214-pound running back told reporters during the offseason program he’s back to “feeling like myself again” after spending the spring with the rehab group.
Taylor was elevated from the practice squad following Hill’s injury. After taking an injury redshirt during his rookie season with the Packers in 2020, Taylor rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries in nine regular-season appearances.
Both Goodson and Baylor enjoyed prodigious college careers, though in vastly different ways.
In three seasons at Iowa, Goodson racked up 3,116 total yards (2,551 rushing, 565 receiving) and 19 touchdowns in 34 career games. The 5-foot-9, 197-pound running back was named third-team All-Big…
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