Latest Rumors on Vikings' Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason Ahead of Fantasy Football Season

Fantasy managers looking for potential mid-round sleepers at running back may want to keep an eye on Jordan Mason with the Minnesota Vikings.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler explained on the Friday afternoon edition of SportsCenter that Aaron Jones is still "considered" the Vikings' starter, but Mason is making an "impression" on the coaching staff through the first week of training camp:

"They're going to divide and conquer. Aaron Jones will remain a big part of that; he is considered the starter. But Jordan Mason has made an impression out here. Just talking to people with the team, he gives them youthful explosion. Now, when they traded for him back in the spring there were several suitors involved. He was considered maybe the top running back available because it wasn't an overly strong running back class outside of Jones, who signed with the team early before free agency. And our Vikings reporter Kevin Seifert pointed out that Mason actually took a first-team rep in 11-man work recently. So, usually the top back in Kevin O'Connell's offense is going to get about two-thirds of the snaps but this could be a situation that's closer to half and half. And they have Ty Chandler as well, a veteran that they really like."

Jones had a successful first season in Minnesota with 1,546 yards from scrimmage and seven total touchdowns. He finished tied with Chuba Hubbard as the RB14 in PPR leagues.

The Vikings brought back Jones on a two-year, $20 million contract in free agency, but they also traded for Mason coming off a breakout 2024 with the San Francisco 49ers.

Christian McCaffrey's injury opened the door for Mason to get his first extended playing time in the NFL. The 26-year-old responded by running for more than 100 yards in three of the first four games.

Ankle and shoulder injuries kept Mason out for the final five games of the season, but he was terrific up to that point.

Even when he was being used in limited duty in his first two seasons, Mason was an incredibly efficient runner. He ranks eighth in yards per carry (5.3) among all players with at least 200 rushing attempts since the start of 2022.

Per FantasyPros, Jones' current average draft position in PPR leagues is 64.8. He is the 25th running back coming off the board, sandwiched between TreVeyon Henderson and Isiah Pacheco.

Mason's ADP is 119.0 and he is the 38th running back being drafted, between Rhamondre Stevenson and Zach Charbonnet.

That's actually good value if you assume Jones will stay healthy for a full season. He was able to play all 17 games for the Vikings in 2024, but one of the reasons the Green Bay Packers released him in March 2024 was because of injury issues.

Jones was limited to 11 games during the 2023 campaign and missed multiple games in five of his seven seasons with the Packers.

There are also durability concerns with Mason coming off last season, but that's baked into the fact you can get him more than 50 spots after Jones.

One key difference that does give Jones an advantage is receiving ability. He has averaged at least 2.7 receptions per game every year since 2018 and has more than 50 catches in three of the past four seasons.

Mason has a total of 14 receptions in three seasons. If he can become a more reliable pass-catcher out of the backfield and the Vikings come close to splitting the reps 50-50 between the top two backs, there's a reasonable chance Mason could be just as valuable in fantasy as Jones in 2025.