EAGAN — It has always felt funny to talk to a 29-year-old man like he’s on the brink of being put into a nursing home. But that’s what it was like peppering Min
nesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones with questions about the vaunted running back age curve inside the locker room on Monday.
Of course, something happening broadly does not mean it is guaranteed to happen in a specific situation. Jones doesn’t have to decline just because the larger sample of running backs have fallen off at 29. Those RBs don’t have one of the highest yards per carry averages of all time, as Jones does.of running backs putting together strong seasons at 29 or older.
Around 30-45 minutes before the Vikings practice, Jones goes in for his pre-practice preparation doing warm-ups and stretching before they do warm-ups as a team. It’s not going to be easy to top the best years of his career. Jones led the NFL in touchdowns in 2019 and then averaged 5.5 yards per carry in 2020. Two years ago he went over 1,500 all-purpose yards by catching a career-high 59 passes.
“When a running back has a high IQ like that, they are an all-around back, he can do anything,” Murphy Jr. said, pointing out that Jones can be called upon to take on any role from the goal-line back jumping over the pile to sneaking out on a route or blocking.
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