Jordan Mason start or sit: Week 2 fantasy football advice

The Minnesota Vikings and JJ McCarthy came from behind in dramatic fashion to beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday night. It didn’t look good in the first half and then McCarthy threw a pick-six to make it look even worse, but he righted the ship and turned in a solid game. It was good to see, especially if you have Vikings rostered on your fantasy team. They need McCarthy to be able to run the offense proficiently to maximize fantasy points across the board.

One of those players that needs the offense to be clicking is running back Jordan Mason. Mason shares time with Aaron Jones, but appears to have won the early down role, while Jones is more often in passing downs. The better the offense, the more chances they have to be in the lead and to run plays near the goal line. Those two things are what an early down back like Mason needs. And this week a home game against a weaker opponent should set up well for him.

Below, we’ll go over Jordan Mason’s outlook in fantasy football for Week 2.

Mason put up strong numbers in his short stint with the 49ers last season and parlayed those into a lucrative contract with the Vikings. There is always some worry about a running back moving on from the extremely efficient 49ers offense, but the Vikings seem to like him, as they gave him 15 carries in a game they trailed much of. He finished the day with 68 yards for a 4.5 yards per carry average. Pro Football Focus graded him as the seventh best running back of the week as well.

This week he’ll face a Falcons defense that was good against the run last season and shut down Bucky Irving for 37 yards on 14 carries. So, we can’t expect him to run roughshod over Atlanta this week. But, as home favorites, I do expect the Vikings to get out to a lead, giving Mason a shot at 15-20 carries. That is the kind of workload we’re looking for from a part-time player.

Start. I currently have Mason as RB31 in my PPR rankings. That puts him as a RB3/flex option.

Start. Mason’s lack of receiving work won’t hurt him as much in standard leagues, so I like him more, but would flex him out in almost all league setting this week.