The Minnesota Vikings‘ run game has been one of the biggest themes through the first two games of the 2026 season. Head coach Kevin O’Connell has made it a priority, and the Vikings have run the ball more than they have throughout the entirety of O’Connell’s tenure. The real question isn’t whether Minnesota will continue leaning on the ground game, but rather if the Vikings can afford to.

Running back Jordan Mason is out with a broken thumb, and Aaron Jones has historically dealt with injuries. On Sunday afternoon, Jones got banged up twice and it’s likely it will happen again. The Vikings did bring in DeeJay Dallas as an RB3 type, and Jerome Ford is on the practice squad, a player more than capable of running a wide zone system. Even so, do the Vikings have enough players they believe in to make an impact on a down-to-down basis?

I don’t think they do. If Jones gets hurt, it could end up being a disastrous position for Minnesota until both he and Mason come back. Dallas himself already got banged up and Demond Claiborne isn’t ready. It raises the question: do the Vikings bring in a running back to help out?

Even if they did, it raises another question. Is there anybody who can actually come in and be an impactful player coming off of the street? The likely answer is no, unless that player already understands the offense. Two free agents fit that bill.

Cam Akers makes sense (again)

It’s a running joke with the Minnesota Vikings that O’Connell is going to bring Cam Akers back. He did so for the first time in 2023 after coaching him with the Los Angeles Rams, then in 2024, and again in 2025. In total with the Vikings, Akers has played 21 games with 107 attempts for 454 yards and two touchdowns, along with a passing touchdown against the Cleveland Browns last season.

Akers isn’t the sexiest player. He is a solid hand you can ask to do a multitude of different things, but his value is that he’s played with O’Connell multiple times. That familiarity is impactful. Akers could walk into TCO Performance Center on Tuesday and carry the ball 10 times on Sunday without issue. Having him spell Jones with some minor production is all the Vikings would be asking for. Just be a complementary piece in the backfield, and Akers certainly has that in him.

Raheem Mostert’s Frank Smith connection

The other player who makes some sense is Raheem Mostert, and it’s not because of the Kevin O’Connell connection. It’s because of his relationship with offensive coordinator Frank Smith.

Mostert has bounced around the league quite a bit, but he got his big break in San Francisco. After spending a few years with the team, Mostert ran for 772 yards in 2019 and was a consistent piece of that rushing attack. The 49ers, just like the Vikings are trying to do, ran a lot of wide zone concepts.

In 2022, Mostert went to the Miami Dolphins and ran for 891 yards and three touchdowns. In 2023, he ran for 1,012 yards and 18 touchdowns, making his first and only Pro Bowl.

Mostert is an older player at 34 years old, turning 35 in April. However, the connection with Smith and the ability to understand how the coordinator wants to attack and operate on the ground would be an invaluable asset to the Vikings in trying to stabilize the running back position until they get fully healthy. It would also ease enough pressure off of Jones to where you don’t have to stress about what he’s going to be doing moving forward.