Aaron Jones is off the free agency market. Aaron Jones signed a 2-year, 20 million dollar deal to stay with the Minnesota Vikings. Jones stays put on a team that needs the consistency as they turn the reigns over to J.J. McCarthy at quarterback. Jones was a key part of the Vikings’ 2024 success and looks to continue that into the 2025 season. With the first domino in the running back free agent mark down. Whose value is on the rise, and who just took a massive hit for your fantasy team?
Winners of the Aaron Jones Signing
J.J. McCarthy: QB Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings were a surprisingly good team last year. Everyone thought their season was going to turn out horrible when J.J. McCarthy went down with a knee injury in training camp. Sam Darnold was able to change the course of his career with his play. It is not passes to McCarthy to lead the Vikings back to the playoffs and hopefully further. McCarthy, for all intents and purposes, is a rookie. He got to watch a film last year but didn’t get to practice or see game action.
McCarthy’s value goes up because of the Aaron Jones signing. Jones provides a solid running game to take the pressure off McCarthy. Jones is an efficient rusher, averaging over 4.5 yards per carry every season of his 8 year career. The coaching staff have a reliable rusher to script plays to and avoid putting too much on McCarthy early on.
Aaron Jones: RB- Minnesota Vikings
How can you not love Aaron Jones back in Minnesota? After seven seasons in Green Bay, Jones got a chance to bet on himself last season with the Vikings. Jones saw his highest usage in 2024. That led to his highest yardage total. He struggled to get into the end zone, only scoring five touchdowns. I expect that number to go up in 2025. With a rookie quarterback, there will be fewer big plays and more conservative play-calling in the red zone. Jones should benefit from that.
Aaron Jones is also a solid pass-catcher. He saw 62 targets in 2024. He should see an increase this year with a rookie quarterback. While he only had two receiving touchdowns, the opportunities are there. The contract they gave Jones shows they want to continue to be a balanced offense and utilize their running game both on the ground and in the air.
Najee Harris: RB- Free Agent
Najee Harris and Aaron Jones were the top two best options in the free agency market. With Aaron Jones signing with the Vikings, it leaves Najee Harris as the lone gem for a team looking for a proven rusher. Harris should be able to not only pick his spot and land with a contender but also find a place that will offer him the contract he is looking for. Aaron Jones is getting roughly $10 million a year at the age of 30. Najee is only 27, so he should command much more and potentially longer.
Najee Harris had 1000 yards in all four of his NFL seasons and never less than six touchdowns. I expect Najee to continue those numbers if not be better. Harris only finished as the RB20 last season, but with an increase in yardage, not splitting time with Jaylen Warren, and more red zone receptions, Najee can increase his output for fantasy managers. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the RB12 range this season, depending on where he signs.
Losers of the Aaron Jones Signing
Jordan Addison: WR- Minnesota Vikings
Jordan Addison has been a productive wide receiver in his two NFL seasons. The issue I have with Addison is the touchdown efficiency. It has been very high in both seasons. Watching game film, a ton of Addison’s touchdowns come from broken plays. Miss tackles or blown coverage. He doesn’t have the true separation or contested catch ability of his counterpart Justin Jefferson.
I fear that Aaron Jones’s signing means they continue to commit to the run game. The Vikings were middle of the pack with only 548 total passing attempts. If the total number of attempts drops and Jones sees an increase, I expect Addison to see a decrease. Addison also benefited from tight end T.J. Hockenson missing the first seven games of the season. Addison seems primed to fall out of the WR20 range, where he has been the past two seasons, and fall into the WR3 range or lower for your fantasy team.
Tier 2 RB Prospects
The Minnesota Vikings looked like a prime spot to draft a running back before the Aaron Jones signing. Now, with Jones back on the team, I still expect them to take one, but not till later in the draft. This hurts all the tier-two running backs in the draft class. With such a deep class, their stock was already tumbling, and now they could still get selected by the Vikings but have to wait behind Jones for at least a year, if not two.
If you were excited for the Dylan Sampson, Kaleb Johnson, and Devin Neal‘s of the world, you probably won’t love them if they land with the Vikings. Aaron Jones has been there before. He held off AJ Dillon for years in Green Bay and stopped Ty Chandler from being fantasy-relevant this past season. Whoever goes to the Vikings in the draft will be nothing more than a taxi squad player for dynasty and a waiver wire resident in redraft.
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