Eagles running back AJ Dillon embraces mental challenges of chess to prepare for ‘perfect’ opportunity

A.J. Dillon wants to make a good impression when he takes the field with the reigning Super Bowl champions on Sept. 4.

The running back spent his first five years in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers, sharing touches with Aaron Jones for most of his tenure. Dillon missed the 2024 season with a neck injury, but the Philadelphia Eagles signed him in free agency – and it is obvious to see why he joined the Birds.

“Coming off a Super Bowl, best offensive line in football, Saquon [Barkley]’s a guy I’ve known for a long time, so it really worked out perfect,” Dillon told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “I’m loving my role there, getting to know my teammates, Philly’s a great city, they got awesome fans, food’s great, football’s great, and it’s a great city. It’s awesome to be out there, and I’m looking forward to the season.”

However, earlier this month, in an effort to fire up his mind before heading to training camp, Dillon joined several other NFL stars, including Justin Herbert, Kyler Murray and eventual winner Justin Reid in the Chess.com BlitzChamps tournament. 

Reid also won the tournament last year.

Dillon’s results were not what he was hoping for, saying, “there’s some chess sharks in the league,” but he added the game of chess is an ideal mental warm-up for football.

ICE CUBE’S SON DISHES ON DAD’S RAIDERS DEVOTION, SHARED CONCERN OVER SHEDEUR SANDERS’ UNEXPECTED DRAFT SLIDE

“I think the mental piece in football is such a big thing. I think when you talk about what sets people apart, because obviously, everybody’s talented at the college level, and at the NFL, everyone’s big and strong, but it’s that mental piece,” Dillon continued. “How quickly can you gather information? How can you think back into the scouting report, and so forth?

“You can only do so much football, so still trying to challenge your mind, but also get your mind off of football. Chess is a great way, and trying to stimulate the mind in different ways, chess does that in a way where you’re really thinking strategically, and there’s a lot of correlations between chess and football, I think.”

Dillon was also able to raise money for his charity, which he started last year.

“Being able to not only play chess and have fun, but also be able to have extra money to donate to a great cause like everybody else will be able to do for whatever they represent this is a huge blessing in itself,” he added.

The competitive nature in Dillon will not let him phone it in after one subpar tournament appearance, either.

“Next time, I’ll be a lot better. It definitely made me hungry. I’m a competitor,” Dillon said. “It’s OK, my first time. I know what the competition is like, so I gotta step it up. I got the Chess.com app downloaded on the phone, so when I got some down time, definitely will play some exhibition matches and things like that. Definitely looking at shake up the tables next year.”

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.