Jordan Mason will cut into Aaron Jones' workload for the Vikings - what do we do for fantasy football?

This offseason, the Minnesota Vikings traded a 5th and 6th round pick for Jordan Mason, who they promptly welcomed with a 2 year, $10.5 million contract that includes over $7 million in guaranteed money.

Kevin O'Connell is already on the record calling Mason an "RB 1B" to Jones' "RB 1A", and specifically mentioned short yardage and goal line opportunities as a key area he sees Mason helping out the offense (which would be bad news for Jones). Either way, don't expect another 19.1 touches per game for Aaron Jones, as the Vikings probable want to get that number closer to 15.

What do we do with this backfield for fantasy football purposes? Is one a better option than the other at their current costs, or are we okay targeted both of them in fantasy football drafts?

Even with a reduced role, Aaron Jones can produce - and the ADP cost is lower than ever

A reduction in role that ends up closer to 15 touches per game doesn't mean that Aaron Jones is undraftable - it actually could help his per-touch efficiency. For what it's worth, Aaron Jones averaged 12.2 PPR points in 7 games where he handled 13-16 touches. If that were his full season alone, without any upside for additional touches, he would've ended up as a low-end RB2 (around 24th at the position).

And that's about where he's going now, currently as the RB 29 in drafts. His overall ADP (83rd) is nearly right in line with my ranking on him in the Draft Dominator tool (82nd), making him a fine selection on your team. And there's nothing stopping them from bringing Aaron Jones back up to the 19 touches per game where he was, especially if Jordan Mason gets hurt.

Jordan Mason's opportunity rises - especially in non-PPR leagues

As Aaron Jones nears the 2,000 touch cliff for running backs, it's natural for teams to bring in competition to - at minimum - spell their current starter to keep them healthy throughout the season. Enter Jordan Mason, who is a perfect compliment to the more pass-catching prowess of Aaron Jones. As mentioned previously, Kevin O'Connell has already called out Jordan Mason's opportunities in short yardage and goal line situations as key areas that he will be used, and it's the latter one that is of most use for us in fantasy.

In his admittingly-small five career games where he's averaged 10-15 touches per game, a reasonable expectation for his role with the Vikings, Jordan Mason is averaging around 9.3 PPR points per game. That's without a dedicated role on the goal line, so there's upside for this number to rise this season - and even more upside if Aaron Jones gets injured, as he will be the clear RB1 in the offense.

Similar to Aaron Jones, I have Jordan Mason ranked (98th) right around his ADP (93rd). He has a dedicated role for premium touches and contingent upside to immediately hop into a large workload.

While both backs are fine at their current cost, I would not handcuff them

I'm not a handcuff guy anyways, but especially in this situation, you'd be spending too much draft capital on one team's position that only pays off if one of them gets injured.

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