Jordan Mason Predicted to Become a ‘Household Name’ in 2026
Jordan Mason is heading into the final year of his contract with the Minnesota Vikings. He’s expected to come in as the RB2 behind Aaron Jones, but could potentially actually carry the majority of the workload in the Vikings’ backfield.
Mason was Minnesota’s best RB in 2025, leading the room in rushing attempts (159), yards (758), yards per attempt (4.8), and touchdowns (5). Funnily enough, QB J.J. McCarthy actually led the entire team in rushing yards per attempt (4.9).
Given the potential uptick in Mason’s workload this season with Frank Smith in town from Miami, he was given quite the interesting take ahead of the 2026 season.
Jordan Mason Could Become ‘Household Name Very Soon’
Wynston Wilcox of FanSided recently released a piece that named a potential “household name” for every single NFL team. For the Minnesota Vikings, it was RB Jordan Mason.
Wilcox provided an explanation as to why in his article:
“When Aaron Jones is healthy he’s a top running back in the NFL. But he’s not always healthy — he played 12 games last year and had nearly 600 rushing yards. Jordan Mason was the secondary option and proved why the Minnesota Vikings signed Mason ahead of last season. I expect him to be a key contributor again in 2026. Even if Jones is healthy, Mason might prove to be a better option.”
Mason is likely going to be the most reliable back for the Vikings as things stand with their current RB room when it comes to actually running the ball. There are pitfalls to Mason’s game outside of giving him the rock on rushing attempts. Jordan Mason isn’t a great pass-blocker, nor is he a big-time threat in the receiving game. His best downs are always going to be on the ground on designed running plays, and he could be considered a liability in most other scenarios. This is part of the reason the Vikings didn’t release Aaron Jones, as he’s a good receiver and decent-enough pass-blocker.
Jordan Mason Should Be Featured Heavily in Revamped Vikings Rushing Attack
Even with his imperfections, the Vikings should still absolutely be feeding Jordan Mason the rock on rushing downs at a high-rate. Minnesota needs to display some legitimacy on the ground if they want to make a mark on the postseason. It would only help the passing game, as teams would slowly start to have to pay less attention to playmakers like Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Jauan Jennings.
Even so, teams aren’t going to want to be beat deep, and would be more willing to let the Vikings keep testing the ground game. With a receiving trio as good as the Vikings have, there’s almost no excuse for them not to get legitimate production on the ground this season.
If Kyler Murray is to start, then the offense could be opened up even more. Teams would then have to not only respect the receivers and the running back, they also have to keep a spy on the QB in a sempiternal manner.
Whatever way they do it, the Vikings offense has all the ingredients to cook up an absolutely electric offense in 2026. Pair this with a defense that has an incredibly high floor, and it could be a special season in the Twin Cities.
