The numbers highlight what is already known: Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones is one of the NFL’s most explosive runners.
Nick Shook of NFL.com used Next Gen Stats to develop simple parameters for what defines an “explosive” runner. The player must meet minimum carry amounts (100 in 2019) and have at least 20 carries of 10 or more yards. From there, Shook looked at the percentage of runs in which the player reached at least 15 miles per hour. This combination of production and speed helped provide a clear path to finding the league’s most explosive runners.
The process found Jones, who scored 19 total touchdowns for the Packers last season, to be the NFL’s fifth-most explosive runner.
According to Next Gen Stats, Jones created 25 runs of 10 or more yards and hit 15 miles per hour or faster on 22.5 percent of his runs. Overall, Jones hit 15 miles per hour on 53 total runs in 2019, ranking as the fourth-most in the NFL.
On Shook’s list, Jones trailed only Lamar Jackson, Dalvin Cook, Raheem Mostert and Kenyan Drake.
Jackson was the league’s MVP and the runaway winner for the title of the league’s most explosive runner. Cook became the engine of the Vikings offense, Mostert effortlessly sliced and diced his way through the Packers defense in the NFC title game and Drake was a player we thought the Packers should have added at the trade deadline last year.
Jones used his slashing running style and gliding speed in the open field to be a big-play creator for the Packers offense. He finished the year with over 1,500 total yards and finished tied for the league lead with 19 scores.
According to Pro Football Focus, Jones gained 27.4 percent of his total rushing yards on runs of 15 or more yards, a measure they call “breakaway percentage.” Overall, Jones finished tied for eighth in total runs of at least 15 yards with 13.
Of Jones’ 236 carries in 2019, 25 gained 10 or more yards – so roughly one in every 10 of Jones’ carries produced the yardage necessary for a typical first down.
Give his explosive ability as a runner and receiver, Jones will enter the 2020 season as one of the centerpieces to Matt LaFleur’s Packers offense. LaFleur said he wanted more explosive plays this season, and Jones is clearly one of the league’s most explosive weapons.
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