After setting a career-high in touches last year, it appears that Vikings RB Aaron Jones is set to split work with recently signed Jordan Mason in 2025, according to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert.
What They're Saying
Seifert on the Minnesota backfield: “Jordan Mason took the first snap Monday of the Vikings’ full-pads team drill. I don’t think there’s much to read into, other than confirming earlier indications that he’ll be in a relatively equal load share with Aaron Jones.”
2025 Fantasy Football Impact
Jones is coming off career highs in touches (306), carries (255), and snap share (63.4%) during his first season in Minnesota, but he’s typically been part of a two-headed backfield. Now approaching age 31, it’s unlikely the Vikings want to replicate his 2024 workload. Jones finished 12th among RBs in touches per game (18.0) last year but figures to see less work this season.
Mason, meanwhile, thrived in Christian McCaffrey’s absence with the 49ers last season. During the first eight weeks of the year, Mason ranked third in the league in rushing yards (685) while averaging 5.1 yards per carry – and, coincidentally, the same 18 touches per game as Jones.
Coming from San Francisco, Mason is a tremendous fit in HC Kevin O’Connell’s outside zone rushing scheme. And the Vikings aren’t paying him an insignificant amount of money.
What will truly impact the fantasy landscape is the pass game usage, which clearly favors Jones. He’s seen at least a 12% target share in each of his last seven seasons, while drawing a target on 21.5% of his routes. Mason, however, has not been asked to contribute in the passing game, seeing a target on just over 9% of his routes. He surely won’t be the third-down option, as Mason caught just one third-down pass during his audition without McCaffrey last year.
See where Jones and Mason sit in the updated RB rankings.