Connor Neal | April 21st, 2020
AJ Dillon, RB, Boston College #2
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 247 lbs
Year: Junior
Games I watched: vs Clemson (2019), NC State (2019), and Florida State (2019)
Dillon was a very good running back in college logging over 4,000 rushing yards and nearly 40 touchdowns in just three years. He has amazing size and power, yet he struggles with changing his direction and his receiving game is lackluster.
As you can see below, my grading scale is out of 100 and is graded based on 10 skills: speed, vision/patience, breaking tackles, burst/acceleration, change of direction/quickness, contact balance, receiving, strength, short yardage, and blocking.
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| Speed
10.5/15 |
Dillon definitely doesn’t have breakaway speed. He doesn’t win with his speed, and you shouldn’t expect him to. |
| Vision/Patience
11.5/15 |
He doesn’t have the best vision, sometimes he’ll run into his blockers. Other times he’ll wait for a hole to open up. He needs to be more consistent. |
| Breaking Tackles
14/15 |
This is what Dillon exceeds at and makes him a good back. He will run over anyone in his path and isn’t afraid to take on the entire defense by himself. He invites contact. |
| Burst/Acceleration
7/10 |
Dillon doesn’t have the best burst. He gains his speed later on in the run and not as soon as he gets the ball. |
| COD/Quickness
7/10 |
He can make cuts but they aren’t the quickest or smoothest. He has good footwork before taking off downfield but can’t capitalize on that footwork. |
| Contact Balance
9/10 |
Dillon isn’t phased by contact, he keeps running strong. It will take more than one or two defenders to take him down, much like Derrick Henry. |
| Receiving
6/10 |
He offers pretty much nothing here. He can catch simple screen passes but nothing downfield. By far his worst category. |
| Strength
4.5/5 |
Dillon is very strong. He put up 23 reps on the bench press at the combine, third most out of all running backs. |
| Short Yardage
5/5 |
He is best at short yardage situations, it’s where he thrives. Dillon will fight for every yard to get that first down, touchdown, or whatever he needs to get. |
| Blocking
4/5 |
Dillon is good at blocking due to his strength and big frame. He has pretty good awareness and all the traits a good pass blocking back needs. |
Total: 79/100
Final Grade: 79
Round Grade: Third Round
Projected Round: Early to mid-day three
Positional Rank: RB8
Dillon is a wrecking ball of a back that will work best in a committee. If Dillon is given the chance to develop for a year or two, I could see him grow to be a very productive running back much like he was at Boston College.
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