On Friday, the Packers announced that starting running back Aaron Jones is nursing a strained calf muscle and will be a game time decision Sunday. That means that rookie A.J. Dillon may get his first chance to step in and play a bigger role in the Packers ground game against the Houston Texans.

Dillon has seen only limited action thus far this season. He has a total of 13 carries through the first five games and has gained 65 yards. Against the Bucs last Sunday, he broke off a 20-yard run, the longest of his career. He gained 31 yards on five carries and was on the field for 10 offensive plays. That is the most productive game he’s had so far as a pro.

There are two main reasons that Dillon has yet to see extensive action since the Packers selected the bruising 6’0”, 247-pound Boston College product in the second round of this year’s NFL draft. The most obvious one is that the Packers have two quality backs with experience ahead of him in Jones and Jamaal Williams. Jones is coming off his best season which saw him top 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in his career and finish second on the team with 49 receptions for another 474 yards. Williams is the Packers best receiver and pass blocking back and is also a reliable and tough runner who knows the playbook inside out.

The other issue facing Dillon has nothing to do with his running ability. In his limited action and in training camp, the coaching staff was able to see how dangerous Dillon could be carrying the football. During the first day of training camp, his huge thighs were the talk of social media and photos of Dillon in shorts were retweeted endlessly.

But Matt LaFleur needs more than just the ability to run from his running backs. Because the offense is predicated on running different plays from identical formations, the running backs in LaFleur’s offense must know how to pass block, pick up blitzes and run precise routes when asked to go out into the pattern. It is not coincidence that Jones and Jamaal Williams were second and third on the team in catches last season. Jones is second again this year with 18 catches after five games.

But now with the real possibility that Jones may not play Sunday or that he may be limited, Dillon may be asked to take on a bigger role in the Green Bay offense against Houston.

Running backs coach Ben Sirmans believes Dillon is prepared for more playing time. “I know he's ready,” Sirmans said before last week’s game in Tampa Bay. “It's just more of a product of those other two guys [Jones and Williams], sometimes based on what we're doing schematically, can fit in a little bit better than what he can. At the beginning of the year, without having OTAs, without having minicamp, those things take a little bit longer for guys to develop. But now that he's gone through training camp and now that we've gone through several weeks of the season, I think he's at that point where he's got a better grasp, not just of the offense, but just the speed of the game. It's just a matter of now just really putting him there and just letting him go.”

The Texans might just be the ideal team to have Dillon get his first extensive action against. Entering this week’s game against the Packers, Houston is ranked dead last in the league in yards allowed per game. Opponents are gaining an average of 181.8-yards per game on the ground against the Texans and are averaging 5.4-yards per attempt against the Houston defense.

When scouting Dillon, many people compared his style of running to Derrick Henry of the Titans. Last week, Henry ran for 212 yards against the Texans and scored two touchdowns. He averaged 9.6-yards per rush and ran for a 94-yard touchdown and scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime.

The Packers and Titans offenses are both off the same coaching tree and while there are differences between the two teams’ systems, LaFleur was Tennessee’s offensive coordinator in 2018 before becoming the Packers head coach. Dillon, Williams and Jones (if he plays) could be in for a big day against this defense.

Dillon has been waiting for this opportunity all season. He has endured the strangest offseason in NFL history, no rookie camp, no OTAs, no preseason games and an abbreviated training camp. This may be his first real chance to shine in an NFL game. We may soon find out if he’s as ready as his coaches think he is.