Buccaneers: AJ Dillon continues to look like a perfect pick

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers still need to find a running back in the 2020 NFL Draft and AJ Dillon looked like a great fit in his combine workout last night.

While it was mostly the big-name running backs that got the lion’s share of the attention at their combine workouts last night, AJ Dillon has continued to impress and would be a steal in one of the later rounds to pair up with Ronald Jones for Tampa Bay.

AJ Dillon has gotten a decent amount of coverage by Buccaneer sites because he is a later round pick, the only place that the team should consider drafting a running back, and is a player with a high upside.

Players like D’Andre Swift, J.K. Dobbins, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire are some of the favorites but they will all require higher-round picks, something the Bucs can’t afford.

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AJ Dillon has been pegged to fall somewhere in one of the later rounds since the college season ended. After yesterday’s performance, the Buccaneers would be lucky to take Dillon almost any time on Day Three.

For those who did not see, AJ Dillon had a very impressive overall combine performance, excelling in many situations and backing up his college tape. All of his drills can be seen here.

Despite weighing in at 247 pounds, AJ Dillon was able to run a 4.53 40-yard dash-a blazing pace for his size. The results for the 40-yard dash are not the end all be all, but these numbers do make Dillon look that much more interesting as a power back or a fullback.

In addition to speed, Dillon was able to post 23 reps on the bench press, showing a decent amount of strength to match with his impressive speed.

Dillon’s drills were good but didn’t blow anyone out of the water. He was about what was expected; fast and strong but not a laterally quick player.

These drills at their core are flawed as they aren’t perfect game scenarios and pads aren’t worn. Even with these facts in place, Dillon still struggled moving side to side and would benefit from more of a power run game and runs that don’t require him to make any quick cuts.

This shouldn’t be make or break for the Buccaneers as this strategy works pretty well for Derrick Henry; the 2019 NFL rushing yards leader.

The final part of the drills that Dillon looked decent at were the pass-catching situations. The sample was small and he would likely not be called upon to be a pass-catcher often, but Dillon looked more confident with his hands than his college results would indicate.

AJ Dillon would still be a great addition to the Buccaneer running back room if utilized properly. Dillon would mostly be a change of pace back and would certainly be a between the tackles player, one that would pair nicely with Ronald Jones.

While over drafting running backs is practically the kiss of death, the Buccaneers could potentially get away with drafting AJ Dillon as early as the fourth round with their comp. pick or in the fifth round if they want to guarantee the implementation of a well-rounded running back room.