Aaron Jones had 109 all-purpose yards and a touchdown in his Minnesota Vikings debut on Sunday. Jones’ performance was something that fans hadn’t seen in a while. Alexander Mattison was Minnesota’s starting running back last year, and he failed to score a rushing touchdown.
Minnesota’s run game hasn’t inspired much fear in opponents since Dalvin Cook’s prime. They were the fourth-worst rushing team based on total yards and ranked dead last in rushing touchdowns with only seven last season. They had 18 rushing touchdowns two years ago. Still, they were only able to put up 1,661 yards, tied for fifth-least in the NFL.
We can attribute some of this to the emergence of superstar receiver Justin Jefferson and Kevin O’Connell’s emphasis on the passing game. However, a lot of it had to do with Cook’s falloff in 2022, Mattison’s lackluster performance as a starter in 2023, and O’Connell and Co.’s failure to marry the run with the pass.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah tried to fix Minnesota’s rushing woes by adding Jones in the offseason, a signing that seemingly didn’t receive enough acknowledgment. Jones has been a top running back in the NFL since the Packers took him in the fifth round of the 2017 draft. Still, he has often flown under the radar throughout the league because he shared snaps with A.J. Dillon.
He will have the backfield almost exclusively to himself for the first time in his career. Jones is 29 years old and will turn 30 on December 2. Most running backs have started to decline by age 30. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if this ended up being a career year for him.
Jones has joined an offense comprised of some of the best receivers in the NFL and an above-average offensive line. Sam Darnold isn’t a franchise quarterback, but he was nearly flawless last week. The point is that the Vikings have an offense that can open up the field with its rushing and passing games, which is far better than a one-dimensional offense.
That’s why the Jones signing is underrated. Everybody knows that Minnesota’s passing game is deadly. They have the best receiver in the game, a top-five TE, and a WR2 that could be the WR1 on several teams. Add Jones to that, and opposing defenses must honor the run, setting up explosive plays down the field.
- You want to double or triple-team Jefferson? That leaves Jordan Addison in single coverage.
- What if an opposing team doubles both of them? That opens up gaps for Jones and essentially leaves Jalen Nailor wide open.
- Load the box on Jones? That leaves only four players to cover Jefferson, Addison, Nailor, and T.J. Hockenson when he returns.
These are all questions that opposing defenses now have to ask themselves when preparing for the new-look Vikes.
None of these hypotheticals are ideal for opposing defenses, and no team has dealt with this type of Vikings offense since Dalvin Cook’s prime. A stellar running game makes all the difference.
Aaron Jones is that difference.
There was a plethora of running-back signings this past free agency, and it felt like Jones didn’t receive enough respect. PFF put out an article ranking the top running backs as free agency kicked off, and Jones was even ranked in the top 10. Following the free-agency period, Sporting News released a piece detailing the best running back signings, and Jones was ranked fifth behind Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, Zack Moss, and Austin Ekeler, all of whom Jones has outperformed in past years outside of Derrick Henry.
One of the big stories surrounding this group of running backs was the Packers letting Jones walk in favor of Josh Jacobs. Jacobs had a career year last season, but other than that, he hasn’t been any better than Jones has been, and they decided to pay Jacobs 5 million more per year than the Vikings had to pay Jones.
Now Jones will be looking to get revenge on the Vikings divisional rival for choosing a guy who hasn’t been any better than he has been. It was a win-win situation for the Vikings.
The one thing that might have scared off the Packers from committing long-term to Jones was his past injuries. Still, if Jones can stay healthy for the Vikes, he may end up being one of the best free-agent signings from this past class.
