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Will the Vikings have RB Aaron Jones available in important NFC North matchup vs. Lions? Blaine Grisak breaks down the fantasy football implications.
The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions will be playing one of the best games of the week in the NFL in Week 7. Coming into the week, the Vikings are undefeated at 5-0 while the Lions have seemingly hit their stride coming off of a convincing win against the Cowboys. The winner will have an early advantage in the NFC North. Playing at home, the Vikings will hope to be at full strength and have running back Aaron Jones available in what is an important division game.
Aaron Jones injury status
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Aaron Jones is likely to play on Sunday against the Lions. Jones injured his hamstring in Week 5 against the New York Jets in London and was pulled from the game after feeling some tightness. The Vikings running back will be listed as questionable and only practiced in a limited capacity on Thursday and Friday.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler added,
“The Vikings remain optimistic about running back Aaron Jones potentially playing this week, but they want to see how he feels over the weekend. He has been part of the game plan, at least in the early stages.”
What Aaron Jones injury means for fantasy football
The Vikings will hope that their starting running back is able to play on Sunday against the Lions. Jones has been a key piece of the Vikings offense has he has 350 yards this season and is averaging 4.9 yards per carry. His 4.3 yards after contact per attempt ranks fourth in the NFL.
After Jones left the game against the Jets, the Vikings offense didn’t look like the complete product that it has all season. The team did trade for Cam Akers this week, but he was likely more of a depth addition as a player that has familiarity with Kevin O’Connell and the offense.
In the four games that Jones has started and finished this season, he has averaged 18.1 points per game. He is currently the RB14 in PPR formats, but has two top-10 finishes.
Throughout this season, the Lions have been one of the stingier run defenses in the NFL. They rank third in yards allowed per game and 10th in EPA per rush. Still, there is potential her for Jones as the Lions have also allowed the sixth-most yards before contact.
The Vikings offense has taken many by surprise this season led by quarterback Sam Darnold. However, a lot of their offense is predicated in running the ball and then running play action off of that. Jones plays a big role in that equation.
In the case that Jones is unable to go, the Vikings will rely on Ty Chandler. Since rushing 10 times for 82 yards against the 49ers, Chandler is averaging just two yards per carry in the three games since. If Jones can go, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Vikings give him his normal workload. Despite a tougher opponents, if Jones starts, he should be in fantasy lineups.
