Best value player for Vikings … makes sense

In about six weeks, fantasy football mock drafts are going to heat up, and according to one website, Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones has incredible fantasy value.

Best value player for Vikings … makes sense

In March, the Vikings signed Aaron Jones from the Green Bay Packers, the panacea solution at the RB1 position, for one year and $7 million. And per Bleacher Report, Jones is the man to grab from the Vikings’ roster in redraft fantasy football leagues.

“Questions about the quarterback have depressed the fantasy value of nearly every Vikings player not named Justin Jefferson,” BR’s Gary Davenport wrote this week. “But those questions about the quarterback could easily lead to Minnesota relying more heavily on Jones and the running game, and the 29-year-old has rushed for more than 1,500 yards from scrimmage and was a top-10 fantasy option just two years ago.”

Currently, Jones is projected as a 6th or 7th round pick in redraft leagues, in territory that includes players like Chris Godwin (WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Rhamondre Stevenson (RB, New England Patriots). In theory, a fantasy manager can essentially draft the core of his team – and add Jones as a backup to the starting lineup.

Overall, Jones is rated as RB16-RB20, along with Kenneth Walker II (Seattle Seahawks) and James Conner (Arizona Cardinals).

If Jones gets injured or ages, Ty Chandler will be waiting for him as RB1. The Vikings are also expected to sign Cam Akers soon – if the deal hasn’t already been finalized.

Minnesota saved $3.35 million by releasing Alexander Mattison in March and invested that money in Jones for a one-year experiment. Jones has played against Minnesota 11 times in his career and will now, with any luck, play 17 games with his former opponent, including two games against the Packers. Since entering the NFL as a fifth-round pick in 2017, he has rushed for 847 yards and 5 touchdowns as a Packer against the Vikings.

Before Jones took the NFL by storm in the final five games of the season, his game-by-game mileage looked like this:

However, on Christmas Eve, Jones transformed into a cyborg and delivered the following performances in the running game:

Minnesota, of course, hopes to be able to present December + January Jones – when he is fully healthy again.

In May, Focus on professional football named Jones the eighth-best running back in the NFL in 2024.

He turns 30 in December.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube channel. VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh And Sal spice. His Viking obsession dates back to 1996. Secret vices listed: Peanut butter ice cream, The Sopranos, Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).

All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information from OverTheCap.com.