RandBall: Aaron Jones has been a revelation for run-starved Vikings

Aaron Jones’ best play in a 34-7 Vikings victory Sunday that saw him run for 102 yards (including a 39-yard scamper) and catch five passes for 46 yards, including a touchdown, might have been a seemingly benign 3-yard carry on the first play of the second half.

On the play, wide receiver Justin Jefferson was on the sideline for the Vikings. As quarterback Sam Darnold turned right and tossed a pitch to Jones, Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. was immediately bearing down on the Vikings running back.

But instead of being dropped for a 2- or 3-yard loss on the play, Jones sensed the danger immediately and made a quick cut to his left to avoid Stingley. The Texans corner got an arm on his leg, but Jones kept his balance and turned the play into a gain, setting up second-and-7.

An 18-yard completion to Jalen Nailor followed. The Vikings never even faced a third down on a drive that ended in a touchdown and a 21-0 lead.

It was the sort of play that led me to announce on Tuesday’s Daily Delivery podcast emphatically, and perhaps controversially, that Jones is the best all-around back the Vikings have had since I started watching this team 30-plus years ago.

Minnesota Star Tribune Vikings writer Andrew Krammer correctly noted that Adrian Peterson was one of the greatest pure running backs of all time and that peak Dalvin Cook was an excellent player. He believes I might be overdoing it with Jones, comparing him to a glass of water for a thirsty person in the desert after so many recent Vikings running game struggles.

But if the definition is all-around back — instincts, craftiness and explosiveness running the ball, catching the ball out of the backfield, and picking up blitzes — Jones is already at the top of the list for me, even if I account for recency bias.

The big number that stands out: Jones so far has a 64.3% success rate on his 42 carries. The definition of success: at least 40% of yards toward another first down during a first-down carry, at least 60% of the yards to gain toward a first down on second down, and achieving a first down on a third- or fourth-down carry.

By that measure, my favorite run wasn’t even a success because it only gained 30% of the needed yards toward another first down. But Jones is a master at turning 1 yard into 3 and 3 into 5.

But Jones keeping the Vikings mostly in positive situations has been a tremendous boon to Darnold, as has Jones’ ability to make big plays in the passing game.

As a team last year, the Vikings had a 44.8% success rate running the ball. Cook, their primary back from 2018 to 2022, was below 48% in four of those five seasons. Jones is at 55.2% for his career, including the strong start this year and 62% last year in Green Bay — lending credence to his recent assertion that he is “aging like fine wine.”

The Vikings will need to manage Jones’ workload to keep him healthy, but so far he ranks very high in a crowded field of notable offseason pickups for Minnesota.