The Vikings made a trade for Jordan Mason this offseason in hopes of elevating their backfield to one of the best in the NFL in 2025.
In his first season with the Vikings, running back Aaron Jones rushed for a career-high 1,138 yards on 255 carries (also the most in his eight-year career). Not wanting to force the 30-year old into another high-volume season, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah went out and made a trade with the 49ers to acquire Jordan Mason, one of the league’s top backups who performed well a season ago in place of the injured Christian McCaffrey.
At this point in the offseason, the Vikings running back room now consists of Jones, Mason, former late-round pick Ty Chandler, and 2023 UDFA Zavier Scott. That doesn’t seem like all that great of a position group, but it was still good enough to land Minnesota at No. 11 in Pro Football Focus’ newest article ranking all 32 running back rooms in across the league.
Here’s what author Dalton Wasserman had this to say about the Vikings and where he ranked their group of rushers:
“Aaron Jones continues to age well, racking up more than 1,600 yards from scrimmage for Minnesota last season. He was also one of just nine qualified running backs to earn a 70.0-plus PFF grade as a rusher and receiver.”
“The Vikings recently added depth by trading for Jordan Mason, who recorded an outstanding 90.5 PFF rushing grade in three seasons in San Francisco. Third-stringer Ty Chandler struggled last season but posted a 76.3 PFF overall grade in 2023.”
This past season, Mason rushed for a career-high 789 yards and tied a previous career high with three rushing scores while starting six games and playing 12 total for the 49ers. He’ll now look to not only complement the dual-threat skillset of Jones, but take a good chunk of carries off of his load to make sure both are healthy and ready to roll when the team gets to the postseason.
Knowing that the Vikings will enter the 2025 season with a new and young starting quarterback, Kevin O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah knew they needed to upgrade their run game to help take pressure off J.J. McCarthy. Mason was a heck of an acquisition and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up being a real bright spot for the team in 2025.
But what are all your thoughts on where the Vikings were ranked here by PFF? Do you agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments below!