Analysis: RB? No. WR? No. Vikings’ Aaron Jones wants you to call his position ‘Athlete’

Aaron Jones doesn’t call his position “running back.” He doesn’t call it “receiver.”

“An ‘Athlete’ is what they used to call it in high school,” said the Vikings running back, er, “athlete.”

“So I like to call my position, ‘Athlete.’”

Michael Hoecht would agree.

Hoecht is a 6-4, 267-pound edge rusher. He plays for the Rams. His assignment to open the fourth quarter on the night of Oct. 24 was to cover the 5-9, 209-pound Jones wherever he went as a receiver, er, “athlete.”

Jones was lined up in the slot to the right of the formation on third-and-3 from the Rams’ 48. Justin Jefferson was lined up a step or two to the right of Jones. Hoecht was across from Jones, looking like the heaviest, slowest slot corner in NFL history.

“You want to be able to show off what you can do, and K.O. [coach Kevin O’Connell] is giving me that opportunity,” Jones said. “He’s found mismatches for me.”

O’Connell’s play design in this situation against man coverage called for Jefferson, the greatest receiver in the NFL, to take a few steps to the inside to essentially create a traffic jam that allowed Jones to loop outside and test Hoecht’s wheels, or lack thereof.

“That’s how the play is designed,” Jefferson said.

Jones knew it would be a big gainer as soon as he heard the play call.

“When I hear Sam [Darnold] call it, I have a smile in the back of my head,” Jones said.

The hard part is keeping a pre-snap poker face.

“I can’t give the play away,” Jones said. “So I kind of smile in the back of my head, knowing we’re about to go and make a play.”

Jones was 23 yards downfield when he caught the ball between Hoecht and the safety and fell out of bounds for a 25-yard gain. It was Jones’ fifth explosive catch (16-plus yards) in seven games.

In seven seasons as the Packers’ lead back, Jones averaged 38.8 catches for 296.6 yards and 2.6 touchdowns. With 22 catches for 227 yards and a touchdown this season, he’s on pace for 53 catches for 551 yards.

If Jones reaches those projected numbers, it would be a career high for receiving yards and his second-highest total for receptions. The Vikings haven’t had a running back reach 53 catches since Dalvin Cook in 2019 (53). They haven’t had one reach 551 yards since Moe Williams in 2003 (644).

Jefferson was asked if it was “weird” for him – the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history — to be asked to essentially set a screen for a running back to get open in the passing game.

“It’s not weird at all,” he said. “Back in college, I had Clyde [Edwards-Helaire], who was pretty much the same. This definitely doesn’t surprise me at all. Seeing AJ in Green Bay, I knew him in this offense would fit perfectly.”

Besides smiling in the back of his head, Jones was asked for his thoughts about looking across the line of scrimmage and knowing the other team has decided to cover him in 25 yards of space with giant edge rusher.

“I’m kind of used to it by now,” he said. “At first, I felt a little disrespected. For a while in my career, I started seeing DBs and then it went back to linebackers. But, hey, I’m cool with that now.”

Hoecht’s body language suggested he wasn’t cool with his part in it. When the play was over, he just shook his head and turned away.

“After games, guys will come up and say something like, ‘Never seen a running back run a high cross like you did against Detroit.’

“And I’m like, ‘I can do it all.’”

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