A man named Aaron has been tearing up the NFL for the Green Bay Packers recently. However, it's not the Aaron most Green Bay fans have been familiar with.
The man of the hour for the Packers right now is running back Aaron Jones. He has been an important fixture for the Packers this season on the ground. He has shown through his performances that the Packers got a steal of a running back in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
However, some fans probably felt that they waited quite a while before their investment on his talent resulted in consistent positive returns.
He came into the draft as a highly-rated running back that plenty of NFL teams could use. In fact, Bleacher Report's Matt Miller had a shining review of the University of Texas-El Paso product.
He is excellent at getting what is blocked for him and can make tacklers miss in the open field. He showed off his lateral quickness at the combine, running the three-cone in 6.82 seconds, which put him in the 86th percentile. Jones can be used between the tackles or on the outside, as well as in the receiving game. He has good vision both in the open field and at the line of scrimmage.
This is high praise for any running back who had yet to play a snap of football. However, his health issues were a big caveat that kept the rest of the league away from selecting him during the first four rounds.
He was only able to play 35 games in his collegiate career. His 2015 season was especially horrible as he was only able to play twice.
The injury bug followed him as he made the jump to the pros. He has yet to play a full season of football. as injuries kept him from playing all 16 games during his first two years with the Packers.
However, he has since thrived at the running back position. The 24-year-old is yet to miss a game for Green Bay this season. His numbers match his health: he's compiled 302 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns on 78 carries. He is also an effective target as a receiver, as he has caught the football 19 times for 150 receiving yards.
Moreover, he pulled off a statement game against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5. He outplayed Ezekiel Elliott with his 107-yard performance that was capped by his four rushing touchdowns.
It definitely took a while for the 2017 scouting report to come true, but Packers fans are just happy that Jones turned out to be the man their team picked. Together with Aaron Rodgers, he will likely be leading this team to a playoff appearance come January.
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