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Kevin Seifert
Eagan, Minnesota – seems safe to rule out at least one possibility as Minnesota’s Vikings classify their field options. They do not want to repeat their great use of veteran Aaron Jones, who established career maximums in touches (306), transports (255) and offensive snapshots (700) in his first season with the team.
Jones exceeded 18 games, even while breastfeeding hip lesions, ribs and quadriceps. He had the largest amount of yards per land (1,138) and the second more scrimmage yards (1,546) in his career. But as he approaches free agency at age 30, the Vikings have indicated that they will mark their play time if they return.
“The important thing for me is that we loved having Aaron Jones, the impact he had,” said coach Kevin O’Connell to Siriusxm at the beginning of this month. “During most of his career, he had been part of Backfield’s committees, but for the most part, Aaron Jones was the return feature [in 2024]. … so I would love to have Aaron back. And then we continue to grow in that room, either infusing a young player in the draft or maybe another player in the free agency with Aaron Jones, hopefully. “
O’Connell made similar comments in the 2024 season, and the vision seemed clear during a victory of week 1 over the New York giants. Jones wore the ball 14 times for 94 yards and a touchdown while playing 52% of the team’s snapshots, and the third -year support Ty Chandler took another eight hauls and played 35.7% of the snapshots.
But the Vikings soon lost the faith in Chandler and, during a transition period after acquiring Cam Akers as the new backup, Jones slipped into a paper below. He played 63% of the team’s offensive snapshots and took 67% of the team’s carry to the runners the rest of the road.
Speaking after the defeat of the wild card of the Vikings against the Los Angeles Rams, Jones said that “of course” he hoped to return to Minnesota in 2025.
“We will see how it develops,” he added, “but this is where I want to be.”
Even if it is more suitable for a more rotational role, Jones remains one of the best options in an alleged class of free agent that also includes Naje Harris, JK Dobbins, Rico Dowdle, Javonte Williams and Akers. His $ 7 million contract last season held the 14th place among the runners on average per year (APY), and could have multiple suitors among the teams that wish to sign a veteran corridor.
However, many teams will classify what is projected as a deep class of runners in the draft. The field of ESPN, Yates, places Ashton Jeanty by Boise State, Kaleb Johnson de Iowa, Omarion Hampton of North Carolina, Treveyon Henderson by Ohio State and Trevor Etienne de Georgia as the best available five.
With four projected selections, the Vikings have the lowest total of capital capital in the NFL. Writing a corridor would make sense for a team that also needs to address the interior of both lines, while it comes to a collection of circumstances that has left its four best corners and two initial insurance eligible for free agency?
The Vikings have made modest attempts in recent years to build their depth of field through the draft, selecting Chandler in the fifth round of 2022 and adding Dewayne McBride in the seventh round the following year. But they acquired Akers through trade both in 2023 and 2024 to supplant Chandler in the depth table, while McBride spent 2023 in the practice team and was renounced after the training camp last summer.
All this discussion, of course, is dedicated to what has been a secondary element of the Vikings offensive since O’Connell arrived in 2022. Having built the scheme around the All-Pro Receiver Justin Jefferson, the Vikings classified the no .
That percentage increased to 39 in 2024 (17 in the NFL) when O’Connell sought more balance in the middle of a Kirk Cousins Quarterback transition to Sam Darnold. That was the impulse behind signing to Jones the last spring, and will continue to be a priority since the Vikings consider whether to deliver their offensive to the second year of the second year JJ McCarthy.
However, if Jones returns, he will probably look different from his battle horse role in 2024.
