Aaron Jones Fantasy News and Statistics

Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones was a standout athlete from a young age. He earned a spot on UTEP’s football team after a distinguished prep career and was able to make a major impact right away in El Paso.

As a freshman in 2013, Jones was able to establish himself as the best running back in the program. In his collegiate debut, he ran for 127 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries in an overtime loss to New Mexico. The Miners ended up going 2-10, but Jones was still his team’s leading rusher despite missing the final three games with an injury. He ran for 811 yards and four touchdowns on 155 carries (5.2 yards per rush).

Jones was healthy in 2014, which helped him piece together an excellent year. With a little more experience, his team trusted him with the ball more. He opened the season with 237 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries against Minnesota and ran for more than 140 yards in each of the first three weeks. He finished the year with 242 rushes for 1,321 yards (5.5 yards per carry) and 11 touchdowns.

Heading into the 2015 season, expectations were high for the junior. With a strong performance, he could have entered the 2016 NFL Draft and started his pro career a year early. He was unable to do this, however, because he tore a ligament in his leg during the second game of the Miners’ season. Without him running the ball for most of the year, the team struggled to a 5-7 finish.

In 2016, UTEP did not have a good team either as the Miners finished the season at 4-8. Thanks to these struggles, they were forced to rely heavily upon Jones for any sort of offensive production. It was not good for the team, but it was great for the veteran back. He exceeded 200 rushing yards on four occasions and finished the year with an outstanding performance against North Texas. Against the Mean Green, he had 24 carries for 301 yards and four touchdowns.

Jones finished the year with 1,773 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns on 229 carries (7.7 yards per rush). He was also one of the team’s more dependable targets through the air, making 28 catches for 233 yards and three scores. He totaled over 2,000 yards of offense as a senior.

Coming out of a weaker college football program, Jones was selected in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers.

Jones started his rookie season as a backup running back who did not see much action. Things changed, however, because of injuries to Ty Montgomery and Jamaal Williams. In a three-week span in which he was the team’s primary back, Jones ran for 100 yards twice. With Montgomery and Williams healthy, however, Jones went back to being a backup.

Since 2017 was his rookie year and Jones showed he was cable of having big games, he could be a player to watch in the future depending on what moves the Packers make during the next offseason.