It’s May, which means that fantasy football season is right around the corner. If you haven’t already had your fantasy draft, it’s time to prepare for it. Fantasy analysts are dropping their rankings by the dozens, and the Minnesota Vikings have been well-represented in those rankings despite last season’s poor outcome.
Running backs are often overlooked in today’s NFL, but they’re still an important part of the fantasy game. PFF has dropped its running back rankings to help you prepare for the year to come. New Vikings running back Aaron Jones is ranked 8th by PFF for PPR leagues by fantasy analyst Thomas Valentine.
Jones comes to the Vikings after spending his entire career to this point with division rival Green Bay. During his time with the Packers, Jones established himself as one of the most dynamic running backs in the league. Even in the past couple of years, while splitting time with A.J. Dillon, Jones was still a force to be reckoned with — when healthy.
That was the big caveat that drove down his 2023 season. Jones was only able to play 11 games last season for the Packers, averaging just 12.3 PPR points per game and scoring 139.4 points on the year, per ESPN.
While that number may have been a down year for Jones, it was still higher than any of the Vikings running backs were able to produce last season. Alexander Mattison led the way last year with 133.2 points and 8.3 points per game, followed by Ty Chandler with 101 and 5.3 PPG. Cam Akers brought up the rear, with just 46.7 points and 6.7 PPG.
Both the Vikings and Jones are looking for a bounce-back season in 2024, and if that comes to fruition, it could pay big dividends for fantasy owners who got Jones on the cheap.