The Green Bay Packers are short on veteran leadership in 2023. They have the youngest and least experienced roster in the NFL after Week 1 with an average of 3.0 years of NFL experience and only three players 30+ years of age.
One of the players that they are leaning on heavily for leadership and guidance this season is running back Aaron Jones. Entering his seventh season in the NFL, he is the only skill position player offensively not still playing out a rookie contract.
That puts a lot of pressure on him to be a leader, but it is a role that he has thrived in. No matter what kind of situation the team has faced this offseason and in the regular season, he has been in the middle of helping figure out a way to overcome it.
“Aaron’s the ultimate teammate, the ultimate friend, the ultimate person,” Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark said. “He’s just a great dude. Never complains about work. You can tell how much he cares about his teammates, and how he doesn’t want to let his teammates down.
“Jordan having a guy like that you can depend on, that you know is going to be there, it works wonders for you.”
A lot of the focus this offseason was on quarterback Jordan Love. He was tasked with replacing the legendary Aaron Rodgers, who was traded to the New York Jets. While Jones did make public remarks about wanting Rodgers back, he made sure to show he had Love’s back as well.
Love was one of the first people to go to California this offseason to work out with Love and start building chemistry. As shared by ESPN, “Jones said at the time it was his way of “letting him know, ‘Hey, you have guys in your corner that no matter what happens, we’re gonna play for you.’ I think if he knows that, it’s just going to help him that much more.”
Later on in the summer, Jones was part of a group of teammates that went to work out with Love again. He is a main cog in the offense as a true dual-threat, but his impact goes beyond just producing stats.
In training camp, when things inevitably got heated between the units, it was Jones in the middle breaking things up. He was the calming voice that was reminding everyone they weren’t opponents but instead teammates with one goal in common; to win football games.
“Just his approach, his ability to speak up when needed, I think he’s got everybody’s ear in that locker room,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “Everybody respects him. It starts by the work that he puts in on a daily basis. He’s got great perspective. He’s been doing it at a high level for a long time now, and how old is Aaron? What, 28? And he’s one of our older players, so … That’s kinda funny to think about.”
The Packers are certainly fortunate to have Jones on the roster. He is not only productive on the field, but has proven to be an excellent leader off it as well. He has helped bring the team together when it is needed most.
