The Minnesota Vikings have started the season with five wins in a row because of their defense and special teams, but running back Aaron Jones Sr. might be the MVP as the team heads into a Week 6 bye.
Jones returned this offseason on a one-year, $5.5 million deal at the age of 31 (he turns 32 in early December) for his 10th NFL campaign. Minnesota meant for him to be option 1B to Jordan Mason’s 1A, a change-of-pace back who can run, pass and block, and the offense always intended to utilize Jones as meaningful part of its attack.
But not quite like this.
Jones has been a workhorse over the past four weeks while Mason has remained sidelined and on the injured reserve list (IR) with a fractured thumb. Over that span, Jones has logged 85 carries and 12 receptions on 17 targets in the pass game — which is north of 24 touches per game and 25.5 intended touches per contest.
Given Jones’ injury history in recent years — he missed five outings for the Vikings in 2025 and six contests for the Green Bay Packers in 2023 — and his workload alongside Mason last season, it is a little hard to believe how successfully Jones has shouldered what has probably been the biggest offensive burden on the roster over the past month.
He has 97 carries for 410 yards and two scores on the season (4.2 yards per haul on average) as well as 12 catches for 72 yards on 18 targets.
Aaron Jones Sr. Has Filled in for Injured Jordan Mason Since Week 2
Head coach Kevin O’Connell noted after the Vikings’ victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday that he expects Mason big when the team takes the field next on October 25 in Minneapolis against the Indianapolis Colts.
However, he also noted how absolutely vital Jones has been to the offense across the season to this point.
“What a warrior over these last few weeks,” O’Connell told reporters on Sunday, October 11. “Aaron would hate for me to say this, but his ability to be a warrior on game day, find a way to make it to the next one, and just be able to be leaned on the way he is, he’s an inspiration to this group.”
Aaron Jones Sr., Dallas Turner Each Have Strong Case as Vikings’ MVP Through 5 Weeks
O’Connell didn’t call Jones the MVP of the Vikings’ season through five weeks, but he might as well have, because it’s difficult to make too strong a case for too many others on the roster.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores appears to have fired edge-rusher Dallas Turner out of a cannon in the linebacker’s third professional campaign and first as a full-time starter. Turner has 5.5 sacks and three tackles for loss thus far.
He has 32 total pressures, which is first in the league, and 17 hurries, which ranks fourth, according to Pro Football Focus statistics. Turner is also third in QB hits with nine of them and second with two forced fumbles.
Meanwhile, kicker Will Reichard has been perfect this season, connecting on all 15 of his field goal attempts, including five of them from 50-plus yards, and is 8-of-8 on extra point tries. And while MVP awards don’t ever go to non-players, Flores’s contributions might perhaps qualify him for the Vikings’ Most Valuable Person moniker thus far in 2026.
But Jones has had minimal help as the feature performer in the team’s least effective phase of the game through five weeks, and he put up the best rushing game of his season in New Orleans on Sunday
Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell Shouts Out $5 Million Unsung Hero of 5-0 Season