Jordan Mason

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Jordan Mason arrives at Minnesota in a good situation. The team needs a strong running game to help the inexperienced J.J. McCarthy. The starter in Aaron Jones is 30 years old and Mason looked great at the start of 2024 for San Francisco once Christian McCaffery couldn’t play. The first four games for the 49ers produced 447 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He ranked sixth at the time, on fantasy rankings. The rest of the year he ranked 65th as he wore down, got injured and couldn’t handle a workload. At best Mason is a nice complement to Jones. Touchdowns? He doesn’t get many of them either. At most Jones misses a game or two and Mason is an ideal short-term replacement. As we saw in San Francisco last year, he is not a long-term proposition. He is only going to disappoint those expecting flex production. If you use a running back as a flex, you want them to be able to catch. Unless Jones misses significant time, Mason will take up valuable space on your bench.

"Impact RB2 in a committee post trade"

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Mason's standalone value depends almost entirely on an Aaron Jones injury. But Jones isn't getting any younger or more durable as he approaches age-31. We saw what Mason's ceiling looks like with a team's backfield to himself in Weeks 1-7 last season, and it was borderline top-5 for fantasy. There aren't many better true backups you can take.

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Mason has an RB1 fantasy upside if he becomes the bell cow for the Vikings due to an Aaron Jones injury. Jones has thrived over the years for fantasy GMs even when splitting touches with another back. 

If this is the plan with Mason, expect the former 49er and Yellowjacket to rise on my board. He has the power, burst, vision, and receiving skills to deliver. For now, he's a change-of-pace for the Vikings with starter upside if injury hits. 

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The Vikings traded for Jordan Mason and certainly plan to use him as their offense projects to shift to a more balanced approach in 2025. Their new starting quarterback, JJ McCarthy, missed all of last season due to injury and had the benefit of a great rushing attack while he played at Michigan. Mason is 223 pounds and will help complement Aaron Jones as Kevin O'Connell looks to somewhat replicate McCarthy's collegiate environment. Mason was very efficient when on the field last season, but he's not a very good athlete, and efficiency within the 49ers offense must be taken with a grain of salt. The masses are more excited about Mason than I am.

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Jordan Mason averaged 5.4 yards per carry on 97 attempts, with +1.9 yards per carry over expectation. While the EPA/att looks concerning (-0.10), it was still tied for 13th in the NFL. Consider also, he faced a stacked box on a league-high 37.1 percent of his outside carries. He still posted a success rate of 39.2% on those attempts. 

Aaron Jones turns 31 in December. Minnesota sacrificing assets and cap space to bring Mason in is an indication to me that he’s going to have a role.

If he can stay on the field, I have a feeling Mason might be one of the more impactful late-round picks in fantasy football next season.