“Explosive” Aaron Jones Severely Outplaying Jamaal Williams, Workhorse Upside Exists

Aaron Jones is on his way to winning the Packers' RB battle.

Packers RB Aaron Jones had a stellar second outing, racking up 82 total yards and a score on just 12 touches. More importantly, his score came at the stripe, where many expected Jones to lose carries to the bigger Jamaal Williams. Meanwhile, Williams The Plodder (droppable in leagues) took his 11 carries for a paltry 27 yards versus the Bills. On just 17 carries, Jones has racked up 107 yards (6.3 YPC) and 1 TD while forcing 8 missed tackles, while Williams has turned 47 carries into just 162 yards (3.4 YPC), scored 0 TDs, and forced exactly 0 missed tackles. Needless to say, anyone with eyeballs can see Jones adds a whole other dimension to this offense, and should see his volume increase moving forward.

Jones has so severely outplayed his backfield mates that the Packers have to be considering racketing up his workload. He did lead the team with 29 snaps, but Williams drew the start and wasn’t far behind with 28. Meanwhile, Ty Montgomery continued to monopolize third-down looks and logged 20 snaps himself.

The explosive back’s endless ceiling feels capped until Mike McCarthy wakes up and hands the reins over. Granted, McCarthy did hint at this workhorse possibility over the summer, saying: “We’re going to go running back by committee…But if one of them would emerge as that full-time guy then you have to have that ability to … adjust to that.”

Jones has also caught the ever-important eye of No.12, as Aaron Rodgers praised the back and different element he brings:

“When you bring (Jones) back on the field, you kind of forget when he’s out the kind of dynamic abilities he can bring to a game with his running style,” said Rodgers. “He’s a different type of runner than we’ve had here.

“He’s very similar to Ryan Grant, I think, who we had for years with his slashing style. He’s probably a little more elusive in the open field than Ryan was and maybe slightly greater top-end speed. We’ve got to find ways to get him the ball.”

Meanwhile, OC Joe Philbin recently praised Jones’ “explosiveness” and ability to “make things happen on his own.”

With his QB and play-caller in his corner, Jones’ volume could spike. Even in a timeshare, he drips in weekly upside. But in a featured role? Jones would be an RB1. He’ll shoot up the Season Long Big Boardboth for his immediate usability and long-term upside.

Author

  • Founder of Roto Street Journal. Lover of workhorse backs, target hog wideouts, and Game of Thrones. Aspiring to be the "Brady" and "Leo" of the fantasy universe.

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