Las Vegas Raiders WR Chris Beatty Highlights Receiver Development and the Importance of Consistency During Bye Week

When last offseason started, the Minnesota Vikings had a clear plan to become a more efficient rushing offense. A key piece of that plan was acquiring running back Jordan Mason from the San Francisco 49ers.

Without getting into the potentially boring details, Mason was easy to see as the ideal complement to Aaron Jones.

Last season, he was better in every area where Jones was not very good as a runner. The Vikings also needed someone who could reduce the workload of a 31-year-old running back coming off a career-high in touches.

In Week 1 against the Chicago Bears, Mason asserted himself as the Vikings’ best running back. The offense’s dismal showing in Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons did not show much of anything as a follow-up, and Jones suffered a hamstring injury that landed him on IR during that game.

In the last four games, Mason has played at least a 60 percent snap share with Zavier Scott stepping into Jones’ role as the passing-down complement. Over that span, Mason has out-carried Scott 64-19 and out-touched him 67-27.

Looming Minnesota Vikings injury return should not alter Jordan Mason’s usage at all

An IR stint requires a player to miss a minimum of four games. So that means Jones is eligible to be activated ahead of Week 8 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

On Tuesday, head coach Kevin O’Connell confirmed Jones’ 21-day activation window would be opened, and there’s a chance he could play against the Chargers.

Whenever Jones is activated, the question is how his availability will impact Mason’s role.

As shared by FanSided’s Marcus Mosher recently, Mason is fourth among running backs with at least 80 carries this season in rushing success rate (56 percent)

In three of his four seasons, including this partial one so far, Mason has had a rushing success rate of at least 55 percent. Jones has been below that mark in three of the same four seasons, and in four of his last five campaigns.

So far this season, according to Next Gen Stats, Mason is top-15 in rushing yards over expected (66, 10th), rushing yards over expectation per attempt (0.82; 13th), and rush percentage over expected (44.4 percent, 15th).

During the offseason, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said he envisioned Mason and Jones being a “1A/1B” backfield dynamic, essentially an equal share of the workload. That truly didn’t last even one full game, then Jones was injured in Week 2.

If O’Connell needs any further confirmation about keeping Mason’s role basically as it has been when Jones is back, there’s data to solidify what should already be obvious.