Minnesota Vikings Running Back Depth Chart — 2026

A handcuff is the backup who inherits the starter's workload if the starter gets hurt — so the Vikings handcuff is whoever sits directly behind Aaron Jones on the depth chart above. Rostering him is how you protect a starting back you have already spent a pick on. More on what a handcuff is.

Minnesota splits cleanly by skill: Aaron Jones drew 41 targets in 12 games, 3.42 a game, at 0.94 receiving yards per pass snap, against Jordan Mason's 16 targets and 0.23. Mason was the far better runner, +1.02 yards over expected per carry to Jones' -0.12.

Mason has played 56 of 68 team games across 4 seasons — 12 missed, one of the thinner availability records among starting backs. Jones has played 72 of 85 over 5.

What would transfer is the running, and that is the part Jones does least well. Mason ran +1.02 yards over expected per carry, 6th of 49 qualifying backs, on 159 carries. Jones ran -0.12, 38th — near the bottom of the qualifying field — on 132.

Minnesota has since flipped the depth chart, listing Jones as the top back and moving Mason to RB2. That changes what a Mason absence would mean: instead of Jones inheriting a bigger version of his own role, Jones would simply continue in the role he already holds, and the extra carries would fall to whoever sits behind him. Demond Claiborne, now bumped up to third on the depth chart from fourth, still has no 2025 record.

Both. The 2025 workload split was close enough that neither back separated: 41.9% of offensive snaps for Mason against 36.9% for Jones, 32nd and 40th among running backs, on 159 carries to 132. The pass-down split was closer still — 221 pass snaps for Mason, 212 for Jones.

What came of those snaps was not close. Jones caught 28 balls for 199 yards on 41 targets; Mason caught 14 for 51 on 16.

The rushing separated them the other way. Mason ran +1.02 yards over expected per carry, 6th of 49 qualifying backs; Jones ran -0.12, 38th. Two backs with weekly roles and opposite strengths, which is why the order on any given depth chart has moved more than the usage behind it.

Yes — Jones, and it is the clearest reason he matters as the first name on the chart, with Mason second.

Jones drew 41 targets in 12 games, 3.42 a game, catching 28 for 199 yards at 0.94 receiving yards per pass snap. Mason drew 16 in 16 — below the 25 a back needs before a receiving rate means anything — at 0.23 per pass snap.

Aaron Jones was on the field for 36.9% of the pass snaps and Jordan Mason 38.4%, a similar share. The difference is not who is out there; it is who the ball goes to.

What the beat is reporting, last refreshed 2026-08-26. Nothing here is measured — it is reporting, attributed and dated.

The Vikings believe they have two players capable of being productive starters in Jones and Mason, despite the uniqueness of their skill sets (Vikings.com, 2026-07-15).

Coaches could use either back depending on game situation or the plan for a particular opponent (Vikings.com, 2026-07-15).

Aaron Jones led Minnesota running backs with 28 receptions in 2025, while Jordan Mason took 159 carries for 758 rushing yards (Vikings.com, 2026-07-15).