The Vikings have endured a fair bit of hardship through their first two games of the season.
Minnesota was already felled by the loss of WR2 Jordan Addison, who was handed a three-game suspension related to a 2024 DUI arrest. Now, the Vikings are without another pivotal member of their offense: starting RB Aaron Jones.
Jones was placed on injured reserve after suffering a hamstring injury. He'll miss at least four games as a result of his malady. That means a shake-up in Minnesota's RB room, with head coach Kevin O'Connell likely to give a newcomer the lion's shares of the carries over the next few matchups.
Here's what you need to know about the Vikings' RB depth chart following Jones' injury.
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Vikings RB depth chart
Position Player
1 Jordan Mason
2 Ty Chandler
3 Zavier Scott
4 Cam Akers
Jordan Mason
Mason sits atop Minnesota's RB totem pole, slated to get RB1 looks in Jones' absence. He tallied a larger share of snaps than Jones across the opening two weeks of the season, per Pro Football Reference.
Mason enjoyed a sterling 2024 with the 49ers, averaging over five yards a carry across more than 150 rushes. He's a frenzied runner, prodding and prancing through holes to collect yards in bunches. He tallied 68 yards on 15 carries against the Bears -- good for an average of 4.5 yards a pop.
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Mason might not be a traditional feature back, but he flashed in the role in Christian McCaffrey's absence last season. There's reason to believe he can find similar success in Minnesota, whose offensive line is widely considered one of the best in football.
Ty Chandler
Chandler is the Vikings' best pass-catcher out of the backfield. He's also lightning fast in open field, sporting a sub 4.40 40-time.
That doesn't predestine NFL success. But it should make Chandler -- a former fifth-round pick -- an alluring pick in certain packages. His ability to field catches should make him a favorite of young quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who is likely to need a little assistance with Jones out of the picture.
Chandler might be best served as a kick returner; he's averaging more than 28 yards per kick return this year. But Jones' injury should land him extra snaps. Perhaps he can showcase some of that noteworthy explosiveness in limited minutes.
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Zavier Scott
Standing 6-foot-1, 219 pounds, Scott has an ideal running back frame. The Maine alum is a bruising talent in the backfield, known for his frantic pace, upright rhythm and punishing style of play. Scott is a raw runner. His languid approach to running can limit his effectiveness. He's also a bit of a project as a pass-catcher -- capable of scaling high to corral unruly passes but struggling with route trees at times.
The 26-year old has seen the field sparingly thus far in his NFL career. That's likely to continue with Jones on the sideline and Scott likely to compete with Cam Akers for the title of RB3.
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Cam Akers
Akers has the most pedigree of any runner currently listed in Minnesota's RB depth chart, amassing more than 2,000 yards across his five-year NFL career. He has never stuck it out as a feature back. But has some solid traits, traipsing across the field with solid tempo and using decent field vision to pick up yardage.
Akers knows O'Connell's system, having played 18 games with the Vikings across the past two seasons. He's not likely to supplant Mason atop the depth chart, but he could offer some flashes when the former Niners tailback takes to the sidelines.