Aaron Jones’ Domination Shows Why Packers Must Draft Running Back
GREEN BAY, Wis. – In the court of public opinion, running back has been deemed an overrated position. Green Bay Packers star Aaron Jones would like to offer a rebuttal.
For as great as Jordan Love played down the stretch, it was Jones’ string of dominant performances that carried the team to the brink of the NFC Championship Game.
Jones ran for 108 yards in Saturday’s season-ending loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He finished the season on a franchise-record five-game streak of 100-plus rushing yards.
With Jones sidelined or limited by hamstring and knee injuries for most of the season, Green Bay’s offense generally operated in fits and starts. With Jones fresh and healthy for the stretch run, the offense caught fire.
“Amazing,” Jones said of the season. “Honestly, it’s been the best team I’ve been around. Just the way we come together and believe in each other. We care about each other. We’re all brothers, cousins. We’re all like family. We’re all related somehow. It’s truly fun when you know those guys care about you. You can just look on the field and it’s evident we’re playing for each other. That’s why it hurts a little bit more because we were playing for each other.”
With Jones providing one explosive run after another, Love’s play-action passer rating for the final three games of the regular season and the wild-card round was a near-perfect 154.8. That’s exactly how coach Matt LaFleur envisions his offense, with Running Play A setting up Lookalike Passing Play B.
Jones, however, turned 29 in December. Age is a real deal at running back. Since the turn of the century, 23 running backs who were 29 years old rushed for 1,000 yards. By contrast, 30 running backs who were 30 and older rushed for 1,000 yards – including 15 for age 30 and 10 for age 31.
Given Jones’ dominant performance down the stretch, there’s no why he should not return for another season. He’s due an $11.1 million base salary, which can easily be renegotiated even if he doesn’t take a pay cut.
“I’ve been an underdog my whole life so it’s always fun proving people wrong,” Jones said. “We were really blocking out the outside noise. We didn’t care about what people said. We even had people coming in our own locker room who didn’t believe in us; I’m talking about the media. We just believe in each other. We stick together and we’re all we got and that’s all we need.”
The argument against paying a running back is obvious. Of the 10 highest-paid running backs this season by total contract value, only Jones and San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey reached the playoffs.
The argument against using a lot of draft capital on a running back is obvious, too. The Falcons used the eighth pick of this year’s draft on Bijan Robinson. Considered one of the best running back prospects in years, Robinson had 1,463 total yards in helping the Falcons go from 7-10 in 2022 to … 7-10 in 2023.
However, the full power of LaFleur’s offense was unleashed when Jones was healthy for the stretch run. Running backs might not be “important” for every team but they are for the Packers.
Looking forward, the Packers need to use a premium draft pick to add another dynamic running back. Whether it’s a stylistic clone of Jones or a new-and-improved model of free-agent-to-be AJ Dillon, the Packers need a well-stocked running back room.
Jones, obviously, isn’t getting any younger. The Packers can’t afford to wait until Week 15 to get their running game up and rolling. It’s just too hard to make the slog from No. 7 seed to the Super Bowl. Heck, his five-game run might be his last gasp of greatness.
With five picks in the first three rounds, general manager Brian Gutekunst needs to find a ready-made, all-around running back capable of splitting carries when Jones is healthy and carrying the load when Jones is dinged.
From there, the Packers’ typically cautious approach with Jones should be cranked up even higher. The last five games showed Jones remains one of the NFL’s elite running backs. With Jones in elite form, the Packers are an elite team.
“It’s a bright future,” Jones said. “We weren’t supposed to be here. The critics, the naysayers, they had us probably winning six games but we’re here. We believed in ourselves. We went through a little patch but that made us who we are, and I think we’ll be better for it.”
With the ascension of Love, the Packers are back in a familiar position. Games in September, October and November are important, but the entire season must be geared toward getting the team ready to make a run in December and January.
Keeping Jones, and giving him a dynamic new sidekick, is the key to making it happen.
