2025 All-NFC North Preseason Team: Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason voted top 5

In part two of our 2025 All-NFC North Preseason Team, we're ranking the running backs.

From Josh Jacobs in Green Bay to Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason in Minnesota and David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit, the North is loaded with big-time talent in the backfield.

After individual running back rankings were cast by Vikings On SI and our On SI colleagues from around the division, Gibbs was voted the No. 1 running back in the NFC North, followed by Jacobs, and then Jones and Montgomery. Mason received all four fifth-place votes. Bears running backs didn't receive any votes.

Player	Total votes	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
Jahmyr Gibbs	4	4
Josh Jacobs	4		4
Aaron Jones	4			2	2
David Montgomery	4			2	2
Jordan Mason	4					4

1. Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions

The Lions didn't exactly get rave reviews for their selection of Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. However, two years later, it's easy to see why the team felt so strongly about him.

Gibbs is one of the league's most dynamic talents, as demonstrated by his 2024 season. He rushed for 1,412 yards and 16 touchdowns, adding four receiving touchdowns to bring his all-purpose total to 20.

The Alabama product has showcased that he's much more than just a speedy back, however, as he shows no hesitation toward running through contact and can power through tacklers. He's one of the most elusive backs in the league, as shown by the fact that he ranked tied-for-fifth with 68 missed tackles forced.

Heading into his third NFL season, there's still room for Gibbs to grow as a pass-catcher, and as such he can become an even bigger piece of the offensive attack. With the pairing of him and David Montgomery, the Lions have done a good job of balancing each back's workload to keep both healthy. — John Maakaron, Lions On SI

2. Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers

Jacobs is coming off a superb season. After a dismal final season with the Raiders in 2023, Jacobs signed with the Packers in free agency and finished sixth in the NFL with 1,329 rushing yards and third with 15 rushing touchdowns.

By the simple numbers, Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs’ season was leaps-and-bounds better. Gibbs rushed for 83 more yards than Jacobs on 51 fewer carries. However, , Jacobs was practically playing a different sport than Gibbs. Jacobs gained 1,039 yards after contact, or 78.2 percent of his total. Gibbs rushed for 834 yards after contact, or 59.1 percent of his total.

Jacobs redefined Green Bay’s offense. The Packers had been a pass-first unit throughout coach Matt LaFleur’s tenure and even dating back to Mike McCarthy and even Mike Holmgren. Not anymore. The Packers had the third-highest run percentage in the league, happy to let Jacobs grind away for 4 or 5 yards at a crack to keep the team in fortuitous third-down situations. Seemingly impervious to the wear and tear from an accumulation of hits, he was already for another carry.

This offseason, the Packers signed guard Aaron Banks in free agency. The hope is the combination of Banks at left guard and Elgton Jenkins moving from left guard to center will not only provide a firmer pocket for quarterback Jordan Love but create more easy yards for Jacobs. — Bill Huber, Packers On SI

3. Aaron Jones (and Jordan Mason), Minnesota Vikings

Jones blends elite patience and quickness with an ability to fall forward. Mason is big, physical, explosive, and possesses excellent vision. Mason's agility and tackle-shedding ability should help the Vikings quite a bit on early downs and in short-yardage situations.

What most people don't know about Mason is that his advanced metrics were elite last season. In fact, only two running backs average more rush yards over expected per attempt than Mason's 1.38, and they just happen to be Derrick Henry (1.77) and Saquon Barkley (1.62). Only two other players were above 1.0 in that statistic — Chuba Hubbard and Jerome Ford — according to Next Gen Stats. Mason also did it while facing eight defenders in the box on 33.3% of his attempts. Henry and Gus Edwards were the only backs to face stacked boxes with such frequency.

Going from Aaron Jones with Ty Chandler and Cam Akers in 2024-25 to Jones with Jordan Mason in 2025-26 is arguably the most underrated upgrade the Vikings have made. Jones had a career year for Minnesota with 1,546 yards from scrimmage and still brings high-end ability as a runner and receiver. But Mason gives the Vikings a second, trustworthy runner who ran for nearly 800 yards last season and has a career mark of 5.3 yards per carry. — Joe Nelson, Vikings On SI

4. David Montgomery, Detroit Lions

Had it not been for a late-season knee injury that cost him the final three games of the regular season, Montgomery was on pace to have a second-straight 1,000-yard season since joining the Lions.

Signed in 2023 to replace Jamaal Williams, Montgomery has been extremely productive behind the Lions' talented offensive line.

Where Jahmyr Gibbs offers more breakaway speed, Montgomery runs with power and strength. That's not to say he doesn't have any pop in his game, as he can still break off big runs at a moment's notice.

Montgomery is also viewed as a key piece of the Lions' locker room, as the team didn't hesitate to sign him to a contract extension that will keep him in the organization through the end of the 2027 season.

Time will tell if Gibbs gets a bigger share of the workload than in years past, however there will always be a place in the Lions' game plan for what he brings to the table. — John Maakaron, Lions On SI

5. Honorable Mention: Da' Bears backfield...

It hardly seems possible for the franchise of Walter Payton, Gale Sayers and Matt Forte to not have a running back ranked in the top four within a four-team division. In fact, according to a vote of On SI writers from the NFC North, they don't even have one who rates in the top five in a four-team division. Vikings backup Jordan Mason rates higher.

D'Andre Swift's Pro Football Focus grade seems a bit harsh, but he did finish 43rd out of 47 backs graded by the website last year. Swift retains great speed and athleticism, so hope exists he'll bounce back.

However, his big problem is style of play and it isn't an easy fix. He doesn't run through enough tackles. Swift broke seven tackles last year, according to Pro Football Reference.

Ben Johnson's past experience with Swift in Detroit did not scare away the new Bears coach, though. Swift averaged a healthy 5.5 yards a carry for Johnson in 2022, when he went from starter to a backup with only 99 carries. It was behind a better offensive line than the Bears put in front of him last year.

The hope is Swift recovers from one year behind a bad line when he experienced a career-worst 2.0 yards before contact per attempt. They'll hope he can run less impeded, like in 2022 for Johnson, when he averaged 3.7 yards prior to contact. — Gene Chamberlain, Bears On SI

1. Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions

2. Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers

3. Aaron Jones (and Jordan Mason), Minnesota Vikings

4. David Montgomery, Detroit Lions

5. Honorable Mention: Da' Bears backfield...

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