Eagles RB Named Philly’s Top Trade Candidate Heading Into Deadline
The Philadelphia Eagles might soon have more running backs than touches to go around, and A.J. Dillon’s name is quietly surfacing as a potential trade candidate before the 2025 deadline.
Philadelphia’s 38–20 victory over the New York Giants in Week 8 gave the league a glimpse of what the Eagles’ backfield could look like moving forward. New addition Tank Bigsby, who had just one carry before Sunday, erupted for 104 yards on nine attempts — that’s an eye-opening 11.6 yards per carry — while Saquon Barkley added 150 yards and a receiving touchdown.
The performance likely settled any lingering questions about Bigsby’s place in the rotation — he’s RB2 now — and it may have also made Dillon expendable, as ESPN named Dillon the team’s top trade candidate.
“Tank Bigsby’s emergence in recent weeks (he rushed for over 100 yards against the Giants after Philly traded for himin September) has pushed Dillon down to fourth on the depth chart behind Saquon Barkley, Bigsby and Will Shipley,” Tim McManus of ESPN wrote on October 29. “Dillon has been solid for Philadelphia this season, but there’s not much of a role for him currently.”
More on Why the Philadelphia Eagles Could Trade RB A.J. Dillon After Tank Bigsby’s Breakout
GettyRB AJ Dillon could be a trade candidate for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Through Week 8, Dillon has just 12 carries for 60 yards and two receptions for 18 more. His touches have been sporadic, spread across a handful of appearances — three carries here, a catch there — with no touchdowns to show for it. He’s healthy now, but his role in the offense has yet to materialize in a meaningful way.
Health, of course, has been a storyline for Dillon since he missed the entire 2024 season with a neck injury. Once one of the league’s more promising power backs in Green Bay, he joined the Eagles in March on a one-year deal worth roughly $1.34 million, including $167,500 guaranteed. Dillon has held up physically this fall, but opportunity may soon dry up behind Barkley, Bigsby and Will Shipley.
Barkley is entrenched as the starter, Bigsby just had a 100-yard game and Dillon is an unrestricted free agent after the season. With Shipley also waiting in the wings, it makes sense to see if another club is willing to take a flier on the 247-pound veteran.
The return would be paltry — likely a seventh-rounder — but it’s better than nothing.
Which Teams Might Be Interested in Adding Dillon?
There are several teams who could use reinforcements in their respective RB rooms. The Los Angeles Chargers, for instance, lost Najee Harris to a season-ending Achilles injury and placed first-round pick Omarion Hampton on injured reserve earlier this month. Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh has been rotating backs from the practice squad, but Dillon’s physical style could help.
The Kansas City Chiefs are another team worth considering. With Isiah Pacheco expected to miss the upcoming matchup against the Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs could be in the market for a temporary reinforcement — particularly one who won’t require financial strings beyond this season. Dillon meets that criteria.
The Chicago Bears are another option. They currently have former Eagle D’Andre Swift leading the backfield, but they could use some depth at RB, as well.
For Dillon, a change of scenery might also be welcomed at this point. He averaged 4.1 yards per carry during his years with the Packers, and he’s still capable of contributing somewhere. Based on what Bigsby is showing, though, Dillon may have to contribute somewhere else.
Chiefs Trade Idea Sends 4th Year Underperformer To Washington
The Kansas City Chiefs may be on the lookout for some additional talent as they have come back from their dismal 0-2 start to be just one game out from AFC West leaders, the Denver Broncos.
But it is also not implausible that they could look to discard pieces of value that serve little to no functional purpose to the team moving forward. One position group where they could think to do this, and trim down what has become a very crowded room, is at running back.
Isiah Pacheco started as the lead back for the team, and has maintained that position for the duration of the season, with the sole exception of week 4’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, where he saw only 37% of offensive snaps as the team laid out Lamar Jackson’s team in a resounding victory.
Chiefs Could Look To Move Off Starting Offensive Player
But Pacheco does not feel like the same kind of angry, aggressive runner he once was earlier in his career.
Although his metrics have not decreased dramatically since 2023, and are actually up slightly on his 2024 performance, it feels like the momentum is starting to shift away from him and towards veteran back, Kareem Hunt, or even seventh round rookie, Brashard Smith.
So in this trade proposal, the Chiefs trade away Pacheco, whose contract is up at the end of the season, to the Washington Commanders.
Fans and media alike have been begging head coach, Andy Reid and co. to let Smith get more touches of the ball and see more time on offense, and in the meantime Kareem Hunt provides very similar efficiency to Pacheco in the run game – 4 yards/carry vs 4.2 yards/carry.
The team also have Elijah Mitchell; who missed the entirety of the 2024 season with a hamstring injury, but has been very productive earlier in his career, including a 963 yard rushing season in his rookie year for the San Francisco 49ers; and has yet to see the field this season on offense.
What Would The Chiefs Get In Return For Isiah Pacheco?
It is not clear exactly what Pacheco’s value is. On the one hand he is a starting running back in the NFL, who has played by no means terribly in 2025.
On the other, he is out of contract in March, and notions of an extensions have not been widely reported on.
To make the matters worse, he recently suffered an MCL injury, that should keep him out for the next couple of games as he remains “week-to-week” with the injury.
Yet, it seems like week-11, post the team’s bye is a realistic target return date for the one-time 7th round draft pick, who admittedly has vastly overplayed his draft position back in 2022.
The eventual answer is that the Chiefs will not get a ton for Pacheco. But if they feel like in this season, Hunt and Smith are the way forward, and they can recoup some draft compensation for him, then a move could certainly make sense for both them and the Commanders, who could use some support for another rookie 7th rounder, Jacory Croskey-Merritt.
Washington Commanders receive: Isiah Pacheco, 2026 seventh round pick
Kansas City Chiefs receive: 2026 fifth round pick
