Matthew Coller's Vikings training camp preview: Running backs

Aaron Jones is a game changer but how much of a workload is he going to have?

Aaron Jones during an offseason workout with the Vikings. / Image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings’ backfield was unproven last year and that resulted in a struggling running game. This year the team spent cap space to bring in one of the NFL’s best running backs with hopes of turning their ground attack around. Let’s take a look at Aaron Jones and the rest of the Vikings backfield heading into camp…

Starter

Aaron Jones

It isn’t an overstatement to say that Aaron Jones is one of the most efficient running backs in NFL history. The only RBs with a higher yards per rush attempt mark than Jones’ 5.0/carry are Jamaal Charles, Nick Chubb, Jim Brown and Mercury Morris. He is tied with Gale Sayers and Barry Sanders.

While he is pressing 30 years old, Jones’ most recent performance in 2023 was still very good. Including the playoffs he carried the ball 182 times for 875 yards (4.8 YPC) and registered the sixth best PFF rushing grade. In total, however, he only played 443 snaps on offense, his lowest mark since 2018. Jones missed several weeks and was limited in a handful of games due to injury.

The Vikings desperately need what Jones has brought to the table for the Packers over the last seven seasons considering they were 29th in rushing yards and 24th in yards per attempt in 2023.

So the main storylines pertaining to the Vikings’ starting RB are: Will we get a sense in training camp for the type of impact Jones can have on a team that has struggled so much to run the ball in recent years? Can he remain healthy throughout the summer and enter the season at full health? How much do they plan to put on his plate this season?

Depth

Ty Chandler

Most of the Vikings’ most exciting runs last season belonged to Chandler despite him only carrying the ball 102 times. The fifth-round pick in 2022 had a breakout game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15 with 132 yards and then remained the main ball carrier through the rest of the season, picking up 126 yards on 30 carries the rest of the way.

Chandler’s ridiculous speed (4.38 40-yard dash) and natural running skills were on display but he struggled mightily in pass protection. Crazy stat alert: Chandler allowed as many sacks last season as a pass blocker as Aaron Jones has during his entire career (per PFF). He gave up more total pressures than Jones has allowed in the last three seasons.

If Chandler can earn the trust of the coaching staff as a complete player, he could form a duo with Jones and keep the veteran as fresh as possible throughout the season. If Kevin O’Connell still doesn’t feel that Chandler can handle anything more than a limited role, there will be questions about how much they are going to put on Jones’ shoulders and whether he can remain healthy in handling the workout.

The rotation it in itself during camp will be the main focus of the backfield.

CJ Ham

Back in 2021, Ham acted as a run blocker on 232 snaps. Last year, he was on the field for 64 run blocking snaps. However, he set a career high in pass blocking snaps, graded a 74.8 by PFF as a pass blocker and gave up just five total pressures on 57 chances. With Jones in the backfield, will Ham still be a pass protector? That’s going to depend on how O’Connell wants to design his third down passing scheme because Jones has often been a receiver on third downs in his past whereas AJ Dillon had more blocking reps the last few years. It’s possible KOC will stick with Ham as a pass pro expert but it’s also pretty valuable to have a do-it-all threat back there.

Could Jones’ presence put Ham’s roster spot in danger? That would be a surprise considering his value to special teams and the fact that having a fullback gives the Vikings another look that teams do not prepare against.

On the bubble

Kene Nwangwu

Each of the last three years heading into camp we have included “will the Vikings carve out a role for Kene Nwangwu?” in previews. And each of the last three years, the answer was no. He has run 27 total times in his career and just five last season. No matter his speed, two coaching staffs have shown little belief that he can be a role player on offense, meaning he might belong more in the special teams preview portion than running back.

On special teams, he could be very valuable though. If teams oblige the NFL by giving kick returners way more opportunities than in recent years, Nwangwu will have a shot to shine. One of the most interesting things of this entire summer will be the kick returns during preseason games.

Cam Akers???

There are reports that the Vikings intend to sign Cam Akers, though they have not officially announced that he is coming back. Last year Akers’ stats did not seem to match up with his fit. He only gained 3.6 yards per carry and caught 11 passes for 70 yards, which isn’t all that thrilling yet the former Ram appeared to have a grasp on O’Connell’s offense and brought some toughness to the backfield.

Whether he could make the team and be any type of role player would depend on how he bounces back from an Achilles tear that was suffered midway through last season. If Akers was in good shape then it would make the backfield appear quite a bit deeper than with just Jones and Chandler.

Myles Gaskin

The Vikings brought in Gaskin as competition in the backfield during camp and then cut him and then brought him back. In 2020 he was an effective option for the Dolphins, gaining 584 yards on 142 carries and gaining 9.5 yards per reception on 41 catches. But with a heavier workload the following year his yards per touch cratered in 2021 from 5.3 to 3.8 and he has only carried the ball 10 times since then. Gaskin must have done enough during practice to convince the team he could be an in-case-of-emergency option but it would be quite a story if he ended up making the 53-man roster.

DeWayne McBride

Last year’s seventh-round pick got a lot of attention for his highlight reel in college. When it came to practice and preseason games there weren’t a lot of memorable moments. Still the Vikings stuck with him on the practice squad, meaning that McBride will get a chance to prove himself in camp. The door could potentially be open to earning a roster spot if the depth behind Jones and Chandler is underwhelming.

Storylines

RB1 or running back duo?

It stands to reason that Jones could take the Vikings’ backfield to places that it hasn’t been in several seasons but whether he will have a trustworthy partner in the backfield to split snaps with depends on the progress that Chandler can make. We will be looking for how often Chandler is in the backfield with the first team and progress with the details, including pass protection.

Will anyone behind Jones/Chandler step up or will the Vikings look elsewhere?

Last year Akers added a spark off the bench after being acquired and then Chandler rose to the occasion at the end of the season when Alexander Mattison got banged up against the Raiders. Will anyone follow in those footsteps this year?

If the Vikings do not get the sense that they have enough in the backfield behind Jones and Chandler there are a handful of running backs still on the free agent market that they could consider, including Latavius Murray, Jerick McKinnon, Matt Breida, Melvin Gordon and Josh Kelly.