Vikings Offense Could Have New Feature

Dustin Baker   |  

Mar 28, 2025

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The Minnesota Vikings traded for running back Jordan Mason earlier this month, sending a 6th-Round draft pick to the San Francisco 49ers that it previously obtained by offloading guard Ed Ingram to the Houston Texans.

Vikings Offense Could Have New Feature

The deal, for Vikings’ purposes, basically featured Mason for Ingram and some late-round pick swap capital.

Why did the Vikings conduct the Mason trade? According to general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, he wants his team to possess the ability to run the rock 40+ times in a game, if necessary.

Vikings GM Wants to Be Able to Run the Ball 40+ Times

Adofo-Mensah spoke to reporters for 20 minutes on Wednesday, and after several questions about Aaron Rodgers, he talked about his new running back, Mason.

“Like I said, we want to be able to win any game and so if we’ve got to run it 40 times, we want to run in 40 times with those two guys, and so we’re just really excited about the pairing. And then with my experience with that front office, obviously, when it’s time to make a transaction, we can be really transparent and honest with each other, and those deals happen that way,” Adofo-Mensah said.

“We’re really excited about the tandem, the pairing, just the physical play style, Mason is really more of a four-minute back, when he gets to the second level he can do a lot of things with contact balance and different things like that. Aaron’s — actually for a smaller guy runs pretty physical himself — really good in the passing game. So, we just like the pairing.”

Most Vikings fans applauded the trade the moment they saw it. Mason performed wonderfully as a 49er last year when Christian McCaffrey hit the shelf.

“We got to see him play against us, obviously, and that kind of impressed us,” Adofo-Mensah added about Mason.

Not a Kevin O’Connell Trait

Listen, the Vikings emphatically do not prefer to run the rock 40 or more times with Kevin O’Connell in charge. They’re a pass-first offense, and no one disputes it.

In fact, in three seasons under O’Connell — 51 games — Minnesota has run the pigskin 40+ times in a single contest just once. That occurred last season when the Vikings downed the Jacksonville Jaguars 12-7 — the game when Sam Darnold could not stop throwing interceptions.

On Mike Zimmer’s watch, the Vikings’ previous head coach, Minnesota ran the football 40+ attempts in a game seven times in eight seasons.

So, Adofo-Mensah merely wants that offensive optionality.

The RB Horses for It

Heading into the 2025 offseason, Adofo-Mensah had no such depth chart to effectuate the 40-attempts plan. Only Ty Chandler and Zavier Scott lived on the February depth chart.

Now, he can dream big with this foursome and possibly add a rookie runner along the way:

• Aaron Jones
• Jordan Mason
• Ty Chandler
• Zavier Scott

More RBs from the Draft?

Next month’s draft is stuffed to the gills with RB talent. Fans hope Adofo-Mensah adds at least one more tailback, perhaps taking Chandler’s or Scott’s spot.

These are the options:

Also Read:
Vikings GM: J.J. McCarthy Is Our Guy. Vikings Fans: Sounds Like Aaron Rodgers to Me.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL. 

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