The Minnesota Vikings have boasted one of the NFL’s most efficient offenses in 2024, and a big reason why has been the addition of running back Aaron Jones.
The Vikings have rushed the football on 45.5% of their plays this season, which ranks 13th in the NFL and is a major departure from 2023, when Minnesota finished third to last in that category at 36.7%. Jones has handled 197 rush attempts for 893 yards and four touchdowns, and the Vikings’ more balanced attack on offense is a big reason for their 11-2 start and current six-game winning streak.
What Minnesota does at the running back position in 2025 and beyond will be a top storyline this offseason. Jones signed what amounts to a one-year contract worth $7 million this past offseason. His signing bonus was prorated over four void years, however, making him a prime candidate for an extension.
Still, Jones just turned 30 this month, and the Vikings could look to April’s draft to help supplement a position group that lacks adequate depth overall. Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report believes RB will indeed be on the team’s radar, and he recently named Minnesota as a top scheme fit for breakout Iowa Hawkeyes star Kaleb Johnson.
Here was his take on a playmaker that Minnesota football fans likely know well:
“The reigning Big Ten Running Back of the Year carried the ball 260 times for 1,242 yards through his first two collegiate campaigns. He exploded this fall with 1,537 yards on 240 carries. He also scored at least one touchdown in every single game this season. When Johnson gets rolling, the 225-pound back plants decisively and gets downhill while running behind his pads. He should fit in nicely with zone-heavy schemes that require backs with enough patience and vision to press the hole and then immediately explode through the openings.”
Adding a young, physical back to pair with Jones in 2025 and beyond would make a ton of sense for Minnesota, and at 225 pounds, Johnson fits the bill.
The Vikings certainly have bigger needs. GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah needs to find a solution at right guard, and the defense requires major attention with impact starters like Byron Murphy Jr. and Camryn Bynum playing on expiring contracts. Running back is probably a tad down the list, but the team knows it has a depth issue there; that’s why Adofo-Mensah swung an in-season trade for Cam Akers in October.
Johnson is currently the No. 3 running back on Mel Kiper’s Big Board for ESPN, and he could be a Day 2 target for the Vikings, assuming they recoup a third-round compensatory pick for Kirk Cousins signing with Atlanta. It’s probably more likely the team opts to use one of their two fifth-round picks on a back, but landing a difference-making talent like Johnson as the future at the position would be ideal.