Aaron Jones shines in critical game Monday night

Aaron Jones could very well have been one of those guys who saved many seasons Monday night with his fantastic performance against the Minnesota Vikings.

For a lot of folks, the fantasy football playoffs were wrapping up this past week. So much was on the line for managers involved in championship games. Key players were expected to rise to their abilities and come up with a big play when necessary in dire situations.

But it wasn’t just Monday’s critical divisional game that Jones played a significant role in many fantasy team’s success. Throughout the year he has performed at a high level and has boosted himself as a solid RB2/low-end RB1 candidate in formats across the board.

During the 2019 regular season, Jones emerged as a consistent candidate to be a solid running back for fantasy managers. Before Week 16’s showdown against Minnesota, Jones was RB3 with 830 rushing yards and 14 scores while on the ground. On top of that, he racked up 45 catches for 425 yards and three more scores through the air.

There was no doubt Jones was being plugged into all lineups universally for Week 16, but there were some doubts on how effective he was going to be for Green Bay’s run-attack. For starters, the Vikings have a relatively solid run defense that ranks roughly around the top-ten in the least number of fantasy points allowed per game to opposing backs.

Furthermore, an even more disturbing aspect was the fact that Packers’ head coach Matt LaFleur has preached throughout all of 2019 of employing a split backfield. He had expressed on numerous occasions how he wanted to not overuse his backs and go with a committee set of runners involving both Jones and fellow teammate Jamaal Williams.

While this is a good philosophy to have from a football standpoint so as to not run one guy into the ground, it does not bode well at all for fantasy managers who had Jones on their rosters. Numerous incidents cropped up throughout the year where Jones just wasn’t being utilized as much as people may have been hoping for.

Even though LaFleur stated he wanted to hand the ball off to Jones about 20 times prior to the start of the game Monday, I felt a bit leery with that claim. I know LaFleur had been constantly blaring his horn earlier on how he wanted to have an even amount of touches with his backs and I wasn’t feeling confident if he was going to stay true to his word. It was very possible he may have just said that to throw the Vikings off on their defensive game-plan while preparing throughout the week.

We were just going to have to wait and see what would happen under the bright lights in Minneapolis. Then the fumble occurred which made a lot of hearts stop. I’m sure many folks must have been getting a bit concerned after that dreadful mistake.

In the very next Green Bay offensive series, the Packers decided to run with Williams for the majority of that possession. Doubt started to creep into my mind as to whether or not Jones was going to be the lead back for the night after that hiccup.

Luckily, it was just for that series as Jones reclaimed his rightful spot as the lead runner in the ground-game for the remainder of the contest. He wound up going off rushing for 154 yards and scoring a pair of touchdowns. Those two scores from Monday now put Jones in the league lead for the most rushing touchdowns by a running back this year (16).

His game has looked quite impressive giving so many fantasy managers an edge this year. Sure it was pretty annoying seeing Jamaal Williams take away from some of Jones’ usage but he still was way more effective with the touches he received.

There must have been several fantasy squads out there who were still in limbo about their championship aspirations heading into the final game of Week 16 with so many noteworthy names that could still make an impact. Jones was one of them, and for anyone who had him most likely possessed more of a competitive edge to get the job done.

Next year will be interesting to see where Jones goes in fantasy drafts. In 2019, he was a mid-second to third-round pick with a lot of upside. Well, that upside certainly blossomed this year with how well he has played.

Anyone who did draft Jones got him at a bargain price. Much like the people who were brave enough to select Dalvin Cook. Yes, I know Cook suffered a shoulder injury that may have cost some the championship in a week when it mattered most, but you have to admit it was still quite a bargain considering he had gone through the majority of the season unscathed.

Now back to Jones. Don’t expect to get him in the same spot you got him this past summer. His fantasy draft stock has gone through the roof and I would not be surprised if he even will be selected as early as the late first round in some deeper leagues next year.

Running backs are so valuable in fantasy, more so than any other position in this game. That’s why it’s critical to stock up on backs early in the draft. The wide receiver class is so much deeper and you can draft some very helpful wideouts later on. As for the backs though, there are only so many that can truly be depended on to be a significant difference-maker.

Let’s give it up for Aaron Jones and what this young man has been able to accomplish this season for Green Bay. The Packers wouldn’t be anywhere near to where they currently are if they did not have him on the roster nor would the champion fantasy teams who had him as well.