Aaron Jones has been placed on IR with a hamstring injury and will miss at least the next four games. That opens the door for Jordan Mason to take control of this backfield, and his first test will be in Week 3 against the Bengals. Cam Akers is reportedly being signed to the practice squad and will likely be elevated to the roster before the game to serve as the primary backup to Mason.
With Jones out of the picture and J.J. McCarthy injured, I expect to see a large dose of Mason on Sunday. The former 49er is already leading the Minnesota backfield this season in carries, yards and yards per attempt. In that regard, nothing will change. But with Jones out of the picture, Mason should see an increase in carries.
In two games so far this year, he’s rushed 24 times for 98 yards, averaging 4.1 yards per carry. It’s not the workhorse load that some backs get, and Minnesota might need to start going in that direction to get their offense kick-started. The Vikings are 31st through two games in offensive yards per game with an average of 226.
A change at the quarterback position with Carson Wentz entering for McCarthy could help cure some of that, but so could giving Mason a huge workload to open everything else up. We’ve seen him do it before, as last season he had three games with at least 20 rushing attempts. He averaged over 123 rush yards per game and scored a touchdown in each of those contests.
Mason has only recorded 14.3 FPTS this season, the 39th-best mark among running backs. His lack of a threat in the passing game has been a big reason why, as well as splitting running back targets with Jones. Mason and Jones have each been targeted four times in the two games, and both players hauled in three of those. Mason has yet to get in the end zone for the Vikings, another reason why his fantasy numbers are low.
I expect him to take on a three-down role in this offense while Jones is out, which could result in big numbers due to an increase in carries, targets and goal line opportunities. Consider Mason a solid RB2/FLEX option in your fantasy lineups for Week 3.
