Matt Hamilton Perfectly Lays Out Why Aaron Jones Will Thrive In KOC’s Scheme
Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
The 2024 off-season was one of the flashiest in recent memory for the Minnesota Vikings. From the loss of Kirk Cousins to a free agency spending spree to drafting two big-time talents in the first round to Justin Jefferson’s monster deal, there has been no shortage of storylines.
Buried in all these fireworks is Aaron Jones: perhaps the team’s most underrated addition. An elite two-way back, Jones signed a deal with Minnesota, seemingly within mere minutes after his release from the Green Bay Packers.
Kevin O’Connell may be an offensive genius, but he has yet to show it in the run game. Whether it has been Dalvin Cook’s rapid decline, or the disastrous depth chart the team put together last season, the ground game simply hasn’t succeeded under the new regime in Minnesota. Jones entering the picture this year means we’ll find out if that was a roster construction issue, or if these struggles reflect the limitations of O’Connell.
There’s starting to be a lot of buzz in the industry that Minnesota’s skilled new running back will finally enable O’Connell’s running game to work. Matt Hamilton was on with Kay Adams and laid out exactly why Jones will thrive in KOC’s scheme.
Aaron Jones and the Vikings are a perfect match. Here’s why…@heykayadams @UpAndAdamsShow pic.twitter.com/eo1WfuTnFH
— Matt Hamilton (@MattHamilton25) June 14, 2024
When you look at the construction of the offense, with Jefferson and [Jordan] Addison, they’re not gonna see a lot of teams loading up to stop the run against them,” Hamilton explains. “This is such a perfect situation for [Jones].”
There’s a caveat here from the Vikings’ standpoint. Last year, Jefferson and Addison created a ton of space for the running game, but the Vikings floundered. “They were one of the least efficient teams running against lighter boxes [last season], and that’s where Aaron Jones thrives,” says Hamilton.
This is backed up both on the stat sheet and the game tape as Hamilton showed on the Kay Adams Show. He notes that Jones averaged the third-highest yards per carry against 6-and-7 man run defenses, and breaks down how Jones’ speed and smarts creates nightmares for defenses. “It’s the details with him,” Hamilton raves about his football IQ. “He’s always getting an extra two, three yards… at the end of these runs.”
Jones might be overlooked by national fans, and maybe even got lost in the shuffle among Vikings fans inthe hubbub of the offseason. But while Jones wasn’t the flashiest move this spring, he’s the biggest example of a trend in Minnesota: underrated pickups that may surprise the NFL world.
Most sportsbooks have the Vikings’ Over/Under somewhere in the 6-win range. But what if Aaron Jones is the offense’s missing piece? What if Darnold finally puts it together with a healthy year in a good situation? What if Addison takes a huge second-year leap? What if Van Ginkel shows out under Flores? What if Dallas Turner is a year-one game-breaker? Sure every team has what-ifs, but all of these seem reasonable. Jones is yet another great example of why no one should sleep on the Vikings in 2024.
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