Inside The Vikings

Why Jordan Mason is a perfect addition to the Minnesota Vikings' backfield

Mason was one of the most effective running backs in the NFL last season and should provide a fantastic complement to Aaron Jones in the Vikings' offense.

Will Ragatz

Sep 22, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason (24) runs the ball against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at SoFi Stadium.
Sep 22, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason (24) runs the ball against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at SoFi Stadium. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
In this story:

The Vikings aren't messing around when it comes to fixing a running game that has struggled during the first three years of the Kevin O'Connell era.

Last week, they brought back Aaron Jones on a two-year extension before he could hit free agency, then upgraded the interior of their offensive line by signing former Colts standouts Ryan Kelly and Will Fries. And on Saturday night, they went out and acquired running back Jordan Mason from the 49ers, landing an underrated player who is the perfect complement to Jones in their backfield.

The Vikings traded a 2026 sixth-round pick and a pick swap this year (No. 160 overall for No. 187 overall) to San Francisco for Mason. Because they got a 2026 sixth-rounder from the Texans in Thursday's Ed Ingram trade, they essentially traded Ingram (a player who was no longer in their plans) and moved down just 27 spots in this year's draft to land Mason, who is reportedly signing a two-year deal with the Vikings with over $7 million guaranteed and a maximum value of $12 million.

This is an outstanding move from GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah that really solidifies an excellent 1-2 punch in the Vikings' backfield, which should do wonders for young quarterback J.J. McCarthy and the entire offense. Minnesota could still draft a running back in April, but that's no longer a significant need, which will allow Adofo-Mensah and company to take a true best player available approach with the team's selections.

Mason, a former undrafted free agent who turns 26 in March, could be a multi-year fixture at running back for the Vikings moving forward. He broke out last year with 789 rushing yards, 91 receiving yards, and three touchdowns for the 49ers, stepping in as their lead back while Christian McCaffrey was injured. Across a three-year career, he's averaged 5.3 yards per carry. But the box score numbers don't tell the whole story of how effective Mason was last season.

Last year, Derrick Henry led NFL running backs with 1.77 rush yards over expected per attempt, a Next Gen Stats metric that attempts to measure how much yardage a back gains on a given play relative to what you'd expect based on the blocking and other factors. Saquon Barkley was second at 1.62 RYOE per attempt. In third place, at 1.38, was Mason. Only two other players (Chuba Hubbard and Jerome Ford) were above 1.0 in that statistic.

Mason generated his production despite facing eight-plus defenders in the box 33.3 percent of the time, according to NGS. Gus Edwards and Derrick Henry were the only other backs to see at least eight defenders stacked in the box on at least 33 percent of their rush attempts. Pro Football Focus charted Mason with 3.35 yards generated after contact per attempt, which was tied for 12th-best among the 72 running backs who had at least 50 carries last season.

Mason brings a blend of explosiveness, power, vision, and agility to the Vikings' offense. He has a quick first step with the ball, but he also plays with great contact balance, which allows him to shed tacklers and continue gaining yardage. He's a bigger back who is listed at 5'11", 223 pounds, which is part of why he's such a good complement to Jones (5'9", 208). He runs with a very physical style and is a much more dynamic version of previous Vikings power backs like Alexander Mattison and Latavius Murray.

The Vikings have particularly struggled to run the ball in short-yardage situations and in the red zone, and Mason should help quite a bit in those areas. He only has 14 career receptions, but he's capable in that regard. His size also helps him in pass protection, which is important in O'Connell's offense.

Jones had a career-high 306 touches for over 1,500 yards from scrimmage last season, but he was at his best during his Packers career when paired with a powerful back like Jamaal Williams or A.J. Dillon. The Vikings will have the classic thunder and lightning backfield dynamic in 2025. Mason could potentially even see more playing time than Jones on early downs if he's able to maintain his incredible efficiency from last season. Adding Mason also gives the Vikings insurance in case Jones has to miss any time. The 30-year-old veteran played in all 17 games last season, but not without getting banged up on a couple occasions.

The Vikings could've waited until the draft and grabbed a running back to round out their backfield. But they don't have many picks, and rookies at any position are always a bit of an unknown. Instead, they went out and got a proven option who had some of the best advanced metrics among all running backs in the NFL last season — and for a pretty low price in both trade compensation and future salary. That's good business from Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings, whose offense is looking rather scary heading into next season.

Recommended articles

Stay up to date on all things Vikings by bookmarking Minnesota Vikings On SI, subscribing to our YouTube channel, and signing up to receive our free Vikings newsletter.

Published
Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

Home/News