Aaron Jones Talks Up Rookie Demond Claiborne in Crowded Vikings Backfield
The 4.37 sixth-rounder has Aaron Jones calling him 'special' — but four backs are fighting for touches in Minnesota. Here's the fantasy read.
Elite speed, glowing praise, but buried on a four-deep depth chart for now.
- Claiborne ran a 4.37 40 at the Combine
- Drafted No. 198 overall out of Wake Forest
- Jones: 119 PPR pts in 2025 (actual, 12 games)
- Mason: 129 PPR pts in 2025 (actual, 16 games)
- Four RBs currently in Vikings backfield
Sixth-round rookie Demond Claiborne landed at pick No. 198 despite running a 4.37-second 40 at February's Combine, and he's already made a believer out of the man ahead of him on the depth chart. Aaron Jones Sr. called the Wake Forest product a special back, pointing to how cleanly he gets in and out of his cuts and saying he wants to mentor the rookie into a long, well-paid career.
That's a strong endorsement, but context matters. Jones posted 119 PPR points in 2025 (actual, 12 games) — 548 rushing yards, two scores and 28 catches — and he's the veteran voice in a backfield that also features Jordan Mason, Zavier Scott and Jordan Mims. Claiborne isn't walking into a vacuum. He's walking into a traffic jam.
The Depth Chart Reality
Mason is the most productive fantasy piece here: 129 PPR points in 2025 (actual, 16 games) on 758 rushing yards and six touchdowns, though his last five games ran 1.8 fantasy points below his season average. Jones is the pass-catching complement. Scott (39 PPR points last season, actual) is a special-teamer with occasional receiving value, and Mims logged just one game. Even a burner like Claiborne has to climb over real bodies to see meaningful snaps.
The bigger question is whether Minnesota even wants to feed a workhorse. Kevin O'Connell is a passing-game architect, and with a quarterback competition sucking up the oxygen this summer, the run game hasn't been the headline. That said, a defense forced to respect the ground game opens everything up — and a rookie with 4.37 speed is exactly the kind of chunk-play threat that stretches a front seven flat.
The Fantasy Angle
For redraft, Claiborne is a late-round dart throw at best right now — the praise is real, the opportunity isn't guaranteed. Mason remains the safest Vikings back to draft given his 2025 workload, with Jones as a PPR-friendly flex. But the athletic profile plus a veteran openly campaigning for him makes Claiborne a genuine stash in deeper and dynasty leagues.
Verdict: WATCH. Don't reach on the hype, but keep Claiborne on your radar in dynasty and monitor the preseason touch split. If he starts eating into Mason's early-down work, that's your cue to move fast.
