The cheapest picks that actually return a profit are rarely the ones with monster upside. They are the ones with a clear, likely path to beating a near-free price. Jordan Mason is that pick, and I am on board with targeting him. I just want to be honest about why.
PFN’s Kyle Soppe framed Mason as less of a post-hype play and more “not enough current hype.” Where I part with the bullish crowd is the ceiling. The monster season some are dreaming on is not really on the table. The value is, though, and that makes him worth considering in 2026 fantasy football drafts.
Why Jordan Mason Is a Smart Cheap Target
The case starts with the runner. Mason is one of the more efficient backs in football, carrying a 5.1 career YPC and ranking near the top in explosive-run rate over the past few seasons. The only thing standing between him and a lead role is Aaron Jones, who is 31, turns 32 in December, and missed five games last season. Time is not on Jones’ side, and the split is already tilting Mason’s way.
We saw what that looks like. In 2025, Mason averaged 5.6 PPG in the 12 games Jones played and 12.6 in the five he did not. That second number is rock-solid RB2/Flex territory, and now he’ll have the benefit of Kyler Murray as a quarterback upgrade.
Mason is going around RB41, a pick you make in the double-digit rounds. If Jones falls off or gets hurt, and both feel increasingly likely, Mason is close to a lock to smash that cost. Even a high-end flex outcome is a massive return on that kind of investment.
Where I Pump the Brakes on the Upside
Here is where I split from Soppe. The bullish case leans on a monster ceiling, sweetened by Murray’s mobility opening running lanes. I understand the appeal, but Mason’s ceiling is capped by one stubborn fact: he cannot catch.
Mason has drawn 30 targets total across his last 28 games, which makes him a complete non-factor in the passing game. That turns him into a touchdown-or-bust RB2, at best. Last season he averaged 13.9 PPG in the games he scored and 4.9 in the games he did not. Efficiency does not fix that.
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Even if Jones’ role shrinks, he’ll keep the passing-down work, and if it is not Jones, it will be some other back. It will not be Mason. The three-down workhorse breakout the dream requires is not coming, because the receiving snaps are going somewhere else no matter what.
None of that sinks the pick. It just reframes it. You are not paying for a league-winner, and you should not draft him expecting one. What you are buying is a cheap, efficient runner who becomes a startable flex the moment Aaron Jones misses time, and Jones missing time is closer to a when than an if.
Draft Mason late, hold him, and let the aging back in front of him do the rest. Temper the ceiling, and the value is one of the easiest on the board.
