Vikings Starter Predicted to Have His Job Stolen in 2025
In the upcoming campaign, the Minnesota Vikings aim to replicate their 2024 success, a season in which they unexpectedly won 14 of their 17 regular-season games. Unfortunately, they blew the Week 18 game in Detroit and the playoff game in Arizona (against the Los Angeles Rams), failing twice to qualify for the divisional round.
Vikings Starter Predicted to Have His Job Stolen in 2025
To set the team up for more success, the club has added various reinforcements, including new starters on both the offensive and defensive lines.
An unsung move that could pay dividends could be the acquisition of running back Jordan Mason, who joined runner Aaron Jones in the RB room. Mason arrived via trade, and the duo will easily form the best one-two punch the Vikings have had in quite some time.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano predicts it will be Mason’s job before too long. He suggested that Mason would lead the team in rushing, specifically.
He wrote, “What I’m hearing: The Vikings love Aaron Jones Sr. If you’ve ever talked to Jones, you know why. He is a great player and a great guy to have in your locker room. But he’s also 30 years old and coming off a 322-touch season.”
Jones was, indeed, a fantastic get for the Vikings, racking up over 1,500 yards from scrimmage in his first campaign on the right side of the state border in addition to being a first-class locker room presence. However, he’s not getting any younger, and he suffered a bunch of minor injuries last year. While he didn’t miss any games, he was limited in some of them, and the Vikings couldn’t give him the rest he required because there was no reliable backup in the building.
Mason has changed that.
“The Vikings traded for Mason, the former 49ers back who they believe adds an explosive element to their run game,” Graziano added. “So far, they’ve been thrilled with Mason’s play, and they envision a pretty even split in running back duties this season between him and Jones.”
Mason offers a larger frame, standing at 5’11” and weighing 223 lbs, compared to Jones at 5’10” and 208 lbs. If you see those two guys in person standing next to each other, one wonders whether those numbers can be accurate. The newcomer looks way bigger. And he can handle a significant workload, as he showed in San Francisco last year.
Graziano concluded, “But during some Christian McCaffrey absences in San Francisco, Mason did show the ability to function as more than just part of a tandem. He ran for 789 yards on 153 carries last season. So it’s not hard to picture a scenario in which the Vikings decide to lean more on him as the season goes along. Again, nothing against Jones — this could just be the natural evolution of things in Minnesota.”
Mason produced elite numbers in yards over expected per run and in yards after contact. He’s widely expected to be the red-zone and short-yardage back due to his size. Jones is more of a finesse rusher with extraordinary abilities in the passing game. His focus might shift a little towards that area.
Long story short, it might be a bold prediction at this point, but it’s pretty realistic, even without injuries. The workload may change on a week-to-week basis, depending on the wear and tear, as well as the opponent’s scheme and the runners’ daily form, but seeing Mason take over some games makes sense.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.