Did Aaron Jones Become the Christian McCaffrey of the Vikings?
When the Minnesota Vikings kicked off the 2023 NFL regular season, they did so with Alexander Mattison taking over as the starting running back. That quickly exposed itself as an issue. Aaron Jones has rectified the problem, but he looks like nothing Minnesota ever saw from him with the Green Bay Packers.
Did Aaron Jones Become the Christian McCaffrey of the Vikings?
The Green Bay Packers parted ways with Aaron Jones this offseason after they asked him to take a pay cut, which he declined. The aging veteran has struggled to stay on the field, and his former employer pointed to that as the reason they couldn’t continue with the current situation. Ultimately, the Packers brought in former Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs instead.
Jones joined the Vikings and quickly made it known how excited he was to face his former team. He talked about wanting to do the Skol chant and how excited he was to make his U.S. Bank Stadium debut as a home team member. Now, three weeks in, he looks like an entirely different player in Kevin O’Connell’s offense.
The Vikings head coach has deployed Jones in a whole host of situations. He has always been a good traditional running back and capable of producing in the receiving game, but this is something entirely different. On Sunday against the Houston Texans, Minnesota got 102 yards on the ground from Jones. He also caught five of six targets for another 46 yards and a touchdown.
Struggling to find running room a week ago against the San Francisco 49ers, Jones again made his presence felt through the air. Although he rushed for just 32 yards, Sam Darnold connected with him on five targets for another 36. Similar to how those 49ers have used Christian McCaffrey, Kevin O’Connell is finding all of the ways to get Jones the ball.
Of course, McCaffrey didn’t play against the Vikings as he deals with an Achilles issue. That has kept him off the field this year, and now he is headed to Germany for a specialist visit in hopes of answers. The Vikings must keep Jones on the field, but that is something he has praised the organization for preparing him for, unlike anything he has previously experienced.
Dalvin Cook was past his prime by the time O’Connell took over. Mattison never looked like he was going to have one as the lead guy. Jones looks like the best of all worlds, and the Vikings head coach is deploying him at will.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
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