Younger Vikings Teammate Reminds Veteran of Himself
The Minnesota Vikings are just a few days away from opening their 2024 campaign after a disappointing and injury-plagued 2023. Many changes were made in the offseason, nothing more obvious than the change at the quarterback position. Kirk Cousins left, and Sam Darnold was signed to take his place. J.J. McCarthy is the long-term solution, but he will not make his NFL debut in 2024.
Younger Vikings Teammate Reminds Veteran of Himself
Darnold has been an underwhelming quarterback in his six-year NFL journey, and the Vikings will be his last chance to be the QB1 for a team if it doesn’t work out.
It will be essential to support him. Head coach Kevin O’Connell is asked to implement the right game plans and call the right plays; his receivers must get open and come down with the passes, and the offensive line must buy enough time for him to read the play correctly.
But perhaps the best help for a quarterback is a balanced offense, keeping the defenses on their heels. Running the football at a decent efficiency isn’t just something coaches preach. It’s actually helpful.
In the last two seasons, the running game was one of Minnesota’s weaknesses. To change that, the Vikings signed former Packers rusher Aaron Jones to a one-year contract. After seven seasons with the green rivals, he will suit up in purple this time.
His backup and only other running back on the 53-man roster will be Ty Chandler, a third-year player. Jones was asked about his counterpart after Monday’s practice. He responded with a bunch of praise:
My impression of Ty has been great. He’s a great back. I’m excited to be his running mate. I know he’s going to do great things this year and I’m going to push him and be his biggest cheerleader…Getting to actually watch him play late in the season last year and watching film, he’s a special back, he has a lot of juice, reminds me a lot of myself as well. I’m here to help him in any way progress his career and get better.
Aaron Jones
The two running backs indeed have some similarities to each other. Both were fifth-round picks who needed a year or two to have a big role. While Jones is a couple of inches shorter and roughly 15 lbs (listed) lighter, they are both speedy and shifty rushers who can catch passes out of the backfield.
It will be a fascinating rotation to watch. Jones is undoubtedly the top guy in the backfield, but it remains to be seen whether Chandler is an actual change-of-pace counterpart or if he’s getting a series or two per game, but most of the touches are reserved for Jones.
Keeping Jones fresh will be a major task for O’Connell as he is a Pro Bowl-caliber player when healthy, but that has been a problem in the recent past. Jones missed games with a hamstring strain and an MCL sprain last season, and he is already 29 years old, which is past the average running back cliff.
The good news for the Vikings is that he finished last year’s season with five straight 100-yard games, showing that he still has that juice left in the tank.
Chandler is just getting started, although he is already 26 years old. He was an older prospect coming out and barely played in his rookie campaign. In year two, especially in the last four games, he became Minnesota’s starter, replacing the struggling Alexander Mattison.
He appeared in all 17 games in his sophomore season, logging four starts. Chandler gained 461 rushing yards on 102 carries, and he scored three times. The speedster also added 159 yards as a receiver.
Having an efficient and reliable run game is a huge point of emphasis after last year’s disaster in that area of the game. Jones and Chandler will play a major role in making that happen.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt