For the Vikings, the running back picture in 2026 looks less like a depth chart and more like a work in progress. Minnesota appears headed into the season with Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason, and perhaps a little Demond Claiborne or Zavier Scott mixed in, but the shape of that rotation is still fuzzy enough that it might not settle down until well into the year.
That’s a sharp change for a franchise that spent years leaning on one true lead back. Adrian Peterson, Dalvin Cook, and even Aaron Jones in 2024 gave Minnesota a clear answer at the position. Those days are gone for now, and Kevin O’Connell may spend training camp - and maybe the early part of the season - figuring out exactly how to divide the work.
Mason was the biggest beneficiary of Jones’s injuries last season, leading the backfield in carries. The numbers jump off the page: 5.1 career yards per carry and a touchdown or first down on more than a quarter of his rushes. But Minnesota has never treated him like a full-time bellcow, and the reasons are easy to spot.
At 230 pounds, Mason brings steady production, but not much burst. On 159 carries in 2025, his longest run went for just 24 yards, and he finished 22nd in the league in explosive carries of 10 yards or more, according to Pro Football Focus.
That kind of grind can move the sticks, but it doesn’t create the kind of big-play offense Minnesota has been missing. The contrast with the Super Bowl teams was obvious: the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks were both top-five in explosive offensive plays and top-three in scoring, while the Vikings landed in the bottom seven in both categories.
The other issue with Mason is protection. His 25.1 PFF grade in pass blocking was the second-worst among running backs with at least 50 pass-blocking attempts.
That helps explain why C.J. Ham logged 184 snaps in just 11 games, and it also explains why the Vikings may be reluctant to push Mason into a much larger role.
Jones brings a different set of questions. He’s coming off the worst season of his career, with career lows in yards per carry, touchdowns and more.
Minnesota even cut him this spring before bringing him back after a brief vacation away. He turns 32 in December and is the second-oldest running back expected to see significant action, behind only Derrick Henry.
The concern is obvious: which version of Jones is left? His yards per carry have fallen in four straight seasons, and Father Time is starting to press in.
Injuries were a major drag on his 2025 production, though, and there is at least a chance that being fully healthy could help him get closer to his 2024 form. The Vikings guaranteed him $5 million this season, so they clearly still expect something real from him, even if it’s hard to imagine defenses losing sleep over the matchup.
Then there’s Claiborne, the rookie wildcard Minnesota took in the sixth round. He has 4.3 speed, and the buzz around him has already reached the kind of comparisons that get fans talking, including Jahmyr Gibbs.
But the draft slot matters, and so does the company he keeps. Ty Chandler had speed too, and after four seasons in Minnesota he left with only 181 carries at 3.9 yards per attempt.
Claiborne has his own proving grounds ahead of him. Like Mason, he has to show he can handle pass protection.
Like Jones, he has to prove he can do it on an NFL field. He likely enters camp as RB3, or lower, and he’ll need to show he’s more than a track athlete in pads.
Still, if those Gibbs or De’Von Achane comparisons turn out to be real, Minnesota may have trouble keeping him on the sideline.
The most likely outcome is that this doesn’t get sorted quickly. The Vikings may spend the opening stretch of the season mixing and matching, especially if injuries complicate the picture again.
On paper, it’s a three-man backfield. In practice, each player comes with enough flaws that the answer might not be obvious for a while.
There are a couple of things working in the group’s favor. The offensive line should be much healthier than it was in 2025, when everyone except Will Fries missed time. And with the expected crowning of Kyler Murray as the starting quarterback, some RPO looks could help open running lanes.
Even so, the range of outcomes is wide. Any one of the three could lead the team in carries in 2026. For Minnesota, that’s either a promising problem or a messy one, depending on how the pieces come together.
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