“More touches for Aaron Jones.”
During the current four-game losing streak, calls for Aaron Jones to get the ball more often have gotten louder. In the past two weeks, the Packers game plan seems to have made a conscious effort to showcase Jones. In the loss to Washington on October 23, Jones was targeted a team-high 10 times on passes and finished the game with nine catches, also a team-high for the game.
Last week, Jones had 20 carries for 143 yards, both season highs for the running back. His four catches in that game gave him 24 touches, the most touches for him in 2022. He had 13 catches in his last two games and his 30 receptions on the season are tied for second-most on the team.
Although this effort to include Jones more in the offense did not translate to wins, more touches for Jones seems to give the team a pulse. And there are stats to back up the effort to focus the offense on Jones.
In the 26 career games where Jones had 15 or more rushing attempts, the Pack were 23-3. In games where Jones had 20 or more touches, Green Bay won 15 of 19 contests.
Through eight games this season Jones has 98 rushes and 30 receptions. He is on pace for 208 rushing attempts and 64 receptions. That would be the second-most rushing attempts in his career and the most receptions.
Running backs with 200 rushing attempts/60 receptions in a season
For the sake of analysis, let’s establish a season goal of 200 rushing attempts and 60 catches for Jones. In Packers’ history, only three running backs have reached these two numbers in a season:
Ahman Green (304-62 in 2001 and 263-73 in 2000)
Dorsey Levens (279-71 in 1999)
Edgar Bennett (316-61 in 1995)
The closest Jones got to these stats were 236-49 in 2019 and 201-47 in 2020.
Looking at the NFL, five running backs have reached the 200-60 mark four or more in a career. Marshall Faulk leads the way doing it five times. LeVeon Bell, Ray Rice, Roger Craig, and Lydell Mitchell each did it in four seasons.
Jones targets a career-high in yards from scrimmage
More touches would also mean that a healthy Aaron Jones could make a run (pun intended) at another Top 10 finish in the Packers single-season list of most yards from scrimmage. Jones’ top season for yards from scrimmage was in 2019 when he had 1,558 yards (1,084 rushing, 474 pass receiving). That is good enough for 10th on the Green Bay list.
Jones has 765 yards from scrimmage through eight games and is on pace for a season with 1,626 yards. That would be a career-high for Jones and would also vault him into seventh place on the Packers’ all-time list. Ahman Green has the Packers’ best season with 2,250 yards from scrimmage in 2003 (1,883 rushing and 367 pass receiving).
We will see if the “more touches” for Aaron Jones mantra continues over the remainder of the season. If it does, and Jones stays healthy, it could mean a career-year for the sixth year running back.
And it could mean a resurrected offense that might lead the team to a playoff berth.
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