The Kansas City Chiefs just hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in Arizona with rookie seventh-round pick Isiah Pacheco as their lead back. Pacheco tore up the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense to the tune of 76 yards and a touchdown.
It’s the new era of the NFL where the buzz swirls around not paying running backs top dollar and replacing them every few years. While this is the popular trend, the Green Bay Packers were right to restructure running back Aaron Jones‘ deal to keep him in the green and gold.
A popular tweet circulated on Twitter after the Chiefs came out on top against the Eagles. The premise was based on recent champions and who led the team in rushing in the Super Bowl. A common theme? Recent Super Bowl winners paid their leading rushers very little.
Green Bay’s decision to bring Jones back on a restructured deal may cause some to scoff, but they’d be foolish to do so. Here’s why: Aaron Jones is the engine of the offense in Green Bay as it pertains to the skill players.
Pacheco was a rookie this year in Kansas City and, thus, is on a rookie deal. However, the Chiefs’ offense butters their bread with tight end Travis Kelce. Yes, they live and die on the right arm of superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes, but the focus of this is the pieces around the quarterback. Pacheco has proven to be a pitbull at running back, but Kelce is Kansas City’s primary weapon.
Look at the other recent winners and then look at the Packers’ situation.
Two years ago, the Los Angeles Rams’ leading rusher was Cam Akers, who had a base salary of $890,593. Wide receiver Cooper Kupp led that Rams’ offense, and he had a historically great year with 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns. All were tops in the NFL. The 145 catches and 1,947 yards were each the second most in their respective categories in an NFL season in league history.
The year before that, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won with Leonard Fournette earning $2 million. That was an offense that had stud wide receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin along with future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski at tight end.
Now circle back to Jones and the Packers.
Green Bay had that primary piece in Davante Adams at wide receiver but that is no longer the case. Wide receiver Christian Watson may emerge into that alpha role on the offense but he isn’t there yet. The Packers don’t have a Kupp or a Kelce or an Evans or a Gronkowski. Jones is the focal point of the offense, and he will be even more so if quarterback Aaron Rodgers doesn’t return. There are question marks on this offense, and that becomes even more enhanced if Jones were out of the picture.
Some will still sour on the Packers giving any running back $11 million for a season in this climate, but it was a necessity if they plan on being relevant in 2023. It’s time to think of Jones as more of an overall playmaker anyways instead of just a running back.
Jones had 13.4% of the Packers’ total targets in the passing game in 2022. That put Jones in the 95th percentile of all running backs. That means that Jones is in rarefied air when it comes to getting targets as a back. He is the engine of the offense regardless of who QB1 is or will be.
Earlier this offseason, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst was asked about an array of different players and the thoughts on bringing each back for 2023. When Jones’ name was brought up, Gutekunst left no doubt that Green Bay had every intention of bringing back its star running back. He noted Jones’ leadership and his path so far in the league.
“The way he leads that football team, his consistency, is amazing,” Gutekunst said earlier in the offseason. “In this league, you can’t have just one (running back). Obviously, having A.J. (Dillon), it’s nice to have that one-two punch. Aaron, when he got first here, you’re thinking, ‘Hey, this probably won’t last long because the way he’s built and his size,’ and he just keeps on defying the odds.”
Not only has he defied odds, he’s critical to the operation.
Running backs may be devalued more now than they ever have been in the NFL. Teams are more hesitant to dish out Christian McCaffrey-type deals at the position now compared to just about any other era (factoring in inflation, of course). However, each case needs to be broken down on its own instead of zooming out the microscope.
The Chiefs won’t have a need to fork over massive money for a running back as long as Kelce is still posting insane numbers. Minnesota might not bring running back Dalvin Cook back in 2023, making him a cap casualty despite his production. Why? Because they have arguably the best wide receiver in football in Justin Jefferson and recognize they can plug in another option at offense and it likely won’t change the overall dynamic of the offense.
Green Bay doesn’t have that luxury because they don’t have a Kelce or a Jefferson in the pass-catching department. On top of that, Jones’ ability to run and catch the ball out of the backfield elevates his prominence.
It’s silly to look at Jones’ scenario and view it through the prism of all running back in the NFL. Jones isn’t like all running backs in the league and his importance is far greater now and moving ahead the next couple of seasons in Green Bay than most other backs on their teams.
Green Bay made the right choice.
