How to Value Aaron Jones And Jordan Mason For Fantasy Football
Ian Hartitz examines the Minnesota Vikings RB room, headed up by the tandem of Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason.
How much does Aaron Jones have left in the tank at age 31? Can Jordan Mason carry the load if A-aron misses time? That is the state of the Vikings backfield. Ian Hartitz breaks it down as part of his Minnesota Vikings Team Preview.
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Are all Vikings running backs quality Zero-RB targets?
- RB1: Aaron Jones (RB36 in Fantasy Life ranks)
- RB2: Jordan Mason (RB39)
- RB3: Demond Claiborne (RB73)
The affordable nature of all parties involved certainly makes it look that way. Consider: Jones (RB40) and Mason (RB41) are currently going in Round 11 of early Underdog drafts!
Now, neither would have exactly paid off in a major way at that valuation last season: A-aron finished as the RB34 in PPR points per game, while Mason was the RB46. Still, that was inside the aforementioned lackluster "nine" led edition of this offense–could we see bigger and better things from these RBs in an improved Kyler-led scheme?
I'm optimistic. We've regularly seen mobile QBs boost their offense's RB rush yards before contact over the years. In fact, last offseason, I looked at how offenses ranked in this metric when led by the ~10 best dual-threat QBs of the last decade. The results:
- The average rank in team RB yards before contact per carry in our baller dual-threat QB group: 11.4
- The median rank: 9.5
- 28 of the 40 qualified seasons (70%) put forward an above-average rank
Note that the Vikings have ranked 29th, 13th, 8th and most recently 17th in this metric under KOC. A leap back into the top 10 should lead to better days ahead for … both Jones and Mason?
Maybe mostly Jones, based on what we saw with both healthy in Weeks 8-15 after Jones returned from injury. Credit to Mason for working as the RB6 in Next-Gen Stats' rushing yards over expected per carry last season—he worked as the RB17 in PPR points per game in Weeks 3-7 with Jones sidelined—but it was mostly the A-aron show down the stretch.
The presence of Zavier Scott–and now rookie Demond Claiborne–is what makes it tough to get too excited about Mason's handcuff upside. He had 16, 19, 16 and 15 touches in four starts without Jones in the picture and could feasibly be a dark horse for double-digit touchdowns thanks to his potential goal-line role in an improved offense, but man, there's VERY little three-down potential here considering the Vikings' willingness to take him off the field for Scott on pass downs last season.
As for Claiborne: Maybe there could be something here! Ace NFL Draft expert Dane Brugler's one-line summary for the Wake Forest product was, "A low-calorie De'Von Achane: small, darting, electric." There are some warranted size (5-foot-9, 188 pounds) and "little things" concerns, but then again, this isn't exactly a depth chart full of world-beaters.
Ultimately, Jones might not be someone you're thrilled to plug in as your RB2, but he's undoubtedly a value based on his projection (RB32) vs. ADP (RB40). A similar sentiment is true for Mason, who, at a minimum, seems priced closer to his floor than his ceiling. I'm dubious Claiborne ever gets a chance at a fantasy-viable role, but you could imagine what it'd be like if he did.
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