When he is healthy and ready to go, Aaron Jones is no doubt the go-to running back for the  Green Bay Packers. However, does that mean he will be the player getting the majority of the carries? If he isn’t getting many carries, that means that AJ Dillon is probably the running back that should be in your fantasy football lineup.
Which Packers running back should you start in Week 10 of the NFL season?
Should You Start Aaron Jones or AJ Dillon This Week?
In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, our Consensus Rankings say that Jones is the player to start. His projected 12.6 points include 48 rushing yards, three receptions, and 22 receiving yards. That projected stat line outperforms the consensus projections for Dillon (8.0 points).
Don’t overthink this one, this is an easy decision. With the versatility of Jones, he should be the running back in your lineup.
Fantasy Outlook for Jones This Week
Finally healthy, Jones is coming off his best game of the 2023 season. He finished the game against the Los Angeles Rams with 20 carries for 73 yards and one touchdown, while also catching four passes for 26 yards. It is that ability to make plays in the passing game that makes Jones a valuable fantasy option.
Both the carries and the touches for Jones last week were a season high, and there is no reason to think the Packers will change things this week.
When talking to the media on Wednesday, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur wasn’t hesitant to say he expects Jones has another heavy workload against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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While the Steelers obviously have some great players on their defensive line, they do struggle to stop the run. Pittsburgh enters this game ranked 29th in rushing yards allowed (133.1 yards), and have been even worse against the run at home (144.3 yards).
This has the makings of a low-scoring affair — neither offense is extremely explosive, so look for Jones to have at least 24 touches this week as well.
Fantasy Outlook for Dillon This Week
LaFleur was complimentary of his backup running back on Wednesday, as he said that Dillon was playing some of his best football of the season. However, if that’s truly the case, why is he seeing less touches each week in the last three?
In the last game that Jones missed (Week 5), Dillon had a season-high 20 touches. But in the three games that followed (all with Jones in the lineup), Dillon’s touches have been in decline, going from 17 to 11 to 10 last week.
With the struggles of Jordan Love, it makes sense the Packers wanting to run the ball often. With the Steelers’ inability to stop the run, it totally makes sense. However, while I think the Packers will do just that, it’ll be Jones who is getting the majority of the carries.
Best-case scenario for Dillon is he gets a goal-line touchdown, but his ceiling just isn’t as high as Jones’ in the Packers’ offense.
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