If you are trawling through your draft board looking for a running back who could outplay his average draft position, Aaron Jones deserves a long, hard look. Entering his second season in Minnesota and his age-30 campaign, plenty of fantasy managers are already writing him off as a declining vet. That could be a mistake. Jones rattled off over 1,100 rushing yards and found the end zone seven times in 2024, proving he is far from done in Kevin O'Connell's offensive system.
The biggest knock against Jones heading into 2025 is the arrival of Jordan Mason, who the Vikings traded for after Mason filled in admirably for Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco. That is a legitimate concern, but let's not get carried away. O'Connell has historically leaned on a clear lead back, and Jones' pass protection skills and receiving chops give him the inside track on early-down and two-minute work. Expect something closer to a 65-35 split than a true committee, which keeps Jones firmly in the RB2 conversation with weekly RB1 upside.
Here is the sneaky angle that most managers are missing: with Sam Darnold off to Seattle, the Vikings will hand the keys to J