Fantasy football: Where to draft Green Bay Packers RB Aaron Jones

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Green Bay Packers RB Aaron Jones heads into 2023 as the most accomplished player on the offense, and it is going to be interesting to see how things go in the post-QB Aaron Rodgers era.

It seems like Jones has been around forever, but he is still just 28 years old with plenty of tread left on the tires. Jones dealt with a bevy of lower-body injuries last season, from ankle to knee to shin issues. He never missed a game, posting a career-best 1,121 rushing yards.

It wasn’t all great for Jones, as he had a career-low 2 rushing touchdowns. However, he was able to post a career-best 59 receptions while finding the end zone 5 times through the air.

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Aaron Jones’ ADP: 35.74

(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com; last updated at time of this publishing – ADPs continually change as more drafts occur)

Jones has been going off the board in Round 3 of redraft leagues, and he should be considered as a borderline low-end RB1 or high-end RB2 in leagues of 12 or more teams.

It will be interesting to see how things go for Jones. The pass-catching should continue, as the Green Bay offense transitions from future Hall of Fame Rodgers to QB Jordan Love under center. We should see Jones used on short to intermediate routes out of the backfield, making fantasy managers in PPR formats extremely happy.

Among running backs, Jones’ ADP is 14th, a little behind the New England Patriots’ Rhamondre Stevenson (32.64) and the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Travis Etienne (35.51), while coming in just ahead of Seattle Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III (41.58), then well ahead of New York Jets RB Breece Hall (49.00) and Baltimore Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins (50.34).

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Aaron Jones’ 2022 stats

Games: 17

Carries | rushing yards: 213 | 1,121

Rushing touchdowns: 2

Receptions | receiving yards: 59 | 395

Receiving touchdowns: 5

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Where should you draft Jones?

In redraft leagues and standard formats, Jones is an outstanding RB2 worth scooping up late in Round 3. However, in PPR leagues, Jones is a low-end RB1 who should exceed 50 receptions and 5 receiving touchdowns yet again in 2023.

Jones will be a huge friend to Love, who is likely to look to the veteran back to bail him out at the first sign of pressure. Jones was targeted 72 times last season, and he has registered 63 or more targets in each of the past 4 seasons. While he found the end zone just twice in the run game, he also went over 1,000 rushing yards for the 3rd time in the past 4 seasons.

It seems like the former UTEP product has been around forever, but he is still well on the good side of 30 years old, the unofficial point where backs start to go downhill in the NFL. He’ll be productive, and a must-start fantasy option in all formats, with extra value in PPR formats.

Jones is unlikely to last past Round 3 in any format, especially in PPR. He is likely to go off the board early in Round 3 in formats that reward a half-point or full point per reception.

He is durable, too, playing at least 14 games in each of the past 4 seasons, and he has lost just 7 total fumbles across his 6 NFL campaigns, which also keeps him out of the doghouse and on the field.

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