The Vikings retooled their run game this offseason, hiring OL coach Frank Smith to lead the charge. The biggest change to the scheme will be more outside zone runs, as outlined in a recent article from The Athletic's Alec Lewis. That shift looks like excellent news for RB Jordan Mason.
2026 Fantasy Football Impact: Ideal Scheme Raises the Ceiling
Mason has dominated on outside zone runs, averaging a huge 5.6 yards per carry on 171 career attempts. He's averaged 4.7 yards per carry in all other run concepts.
Mason also has an indirect connection to Smith. (Stay with me here!)
Smith spent the last four seasons under HC Mike McDaniel in Miami. McDaniel worked under 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan for 11 years before taking over in Miami. Mason spent his first four NFL seasons playing for Shanahan.
So he should be very familiar with this run scheme, which helped him to 5.3 yards per carry across his first three NFL seasons.
Lewis closed his article with this:
"Earlier this week, while walking off the field, Vikings (and former 49ers) running back Jordan Mason stopped to answer a brief question.
'How much does all of this remind you of the way they ran the ball in San Francisco?'
His eyes widened. He smiled."
We already liked Mason to out-produce a declining Aaron Jones in fantasy this year. The details on Minnesota's new run scheme have us even more excited about Mason's 2026 outlook.
