‘Overlooked’ Jones Finds ‘Added Motivation’ Facing King Henry
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Derrick Henry has always been the big man on campus.
That hasn’t been the case for Aaron Jones.
Henry was considered the top-ranked player in the 2013 recruiting recycle as a 240-pound running back. A five-star prospect, he went to powerhouse Alabama, where he won the Heisman Trophy and national championship in 2015.
Jones was a three-star recruit. At 175 pounds, he was not recruited nationally and instead stayed home and played at Texas-El Paso.
Henry was a second-round draft pick by the Tennessee Titans in 2016. Jones was a fifth-round draft pick by the Green Bay Packers in 2017.
Henry remains the big man in NFL circles. The 247-pounder leads the NFL in rushing and has a chance to finish the season with 2,000 yards. Jones, up to 208 pounds, is fourth with 968 rushing yards. Entering Sunday night’s game at Lambeau Field, two-time Pro Bowler Henry is the marquee running back who wears the crown of King Henry.
Jones, even as a first-time Pro Bowler, enters this game with something to prove – no different than he has for most of his football-playing life.
“I’ve been overlooked my whole life,” he said this week, adding, “It’s just added motivation to get the job done with my team and make sure I can do everything that I can for my team so we can come out with the win.”
Jones had a breakout season last year with his league-leading 16 rushing touchdowns and 19 total touchdowns. With Aaron Rodgers having an MVP-type season this year, Jones hasn’t found the end zone as often but he’s having a better season by other statistical standards. After rushing for 1,084 yards, averaging 4.6 yards per carry and posting 1,558 scrimmage yards last season, Jones enters this week’s showdown with 968 rushing yards, a 5.4-yard average and 1,266 scrimmage yards.
While Henry has outrushed Jones by more than 700 yards, Jones has the slight edge over Henry’s 5.2-yard average. Jones’ career mark of 5.12 yards per carry ranks sixth in NFL history among all running backs with at least 600 carries.
Henry has the accolades, the rushing crown and darkhorse MVP candidacy. He also has the money. In July, he inked a four-year, $50 million contract extension.
Jones is going to get paid, too – either by Green Bay or some other team in free agency. He’s in his final season under contract and wants to remain with the Packers, but the team has major salary-cap problems due to COVID-19’s impact on league revenue. Jones recently changed agents, selected Drew Rosenhaus.
“I think the world about Derrick Henry,” Jones said. “He’s a great back. He does a lot of great things for his team and he brings the overall value of the position up, so shoutout to Derrick Henry for helping all the backs out there. He’s a great player.”
Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey (four years, $64 million), New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara (five years, $75 million), Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook (four years, $63 million), Cincinnati’s Joe Mixon (four years, $48 million) and Henry are five high-profile backs who signed huge contracts this year.
Jones continues to wait. There’s at least a decent chance he’ll be playing in his final two or three games at Lambeau Field over the next few weeks.
“I’m not even thinking about that,” Jones said. “I’m just thinking about going out there one game at a time, and this week it’s Tennessee to help secure the No. 1 seed and do what I can control. And that is take care of what’s going on right now. I’m not worried about what’s going on in the future or any of that. I’m here to play football.”
Countdown To Kickoff
Five Days: Five Keys to the Game
Four Days; Four Views from Inside the Titans
Three Days: Three Reasons to Worry
