<
>

Encore? Packers' Aaron Jones wants to top 23 TDs in 18 games

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones answered plenty of questions during the 2019 season.

Could he stay healthy after suffering knee injuries in his first two seasons?

He played in all 16 regular-season games for the first in his three-year career and in both playoff games during his first time in the postseason.

Was he suited for new coach Matt LaFleur's offense built around the running backs?

He not only registered his first 1,000-yard season (1,084), but he ranked second on the team in receptions (49) and led the team (and ranked eighth in the NFL) with 1,558 yards from scrimmage.

Could fantasy football owners finally count on him?

He tied for the NFL lead with 19 regular-season touchdowns and added four more in the playoffs to break Ahman Green's franchise record (including postseason games) of 22 touchdowns in a season.

Now, there are new questions for Jones.

Can he possibly match that kind of production? And what will happen to him after the 2020 season when he's scheduled to become a free agent?

Jones has an answer for the first one.

"You always want to top the previous year, try to do better than I did," Jones said after Sunday's loss to the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. "But I'll go back this offseason and come up with my goals and write them down, and I'll be ready."

If Jones does anything similar next season, then he will put himself in line for a massive contract. The former fifth-round pick is still playing under his rookie deal (four years, $2.6 million) that makes him the 78th-highest-paid running back in the league based on average per year. The Packers let their last regular starting running back, Eddie Lacy, leave in free agency, although Lacy's weight became the major issue.

From a playing-time standpoint, Jones was on the field for 62.9% of the Packers' offensive plays this season, compared to 35% last season and 22.5% as a rookie.

No one played all 1,205 offense plays, including playoffs, but right guard Billy Turner and left tackle David Bakhtiari came close.

Bakhtiari had to come off the field for three snaps in Week 8 against the Kansas City Chiefs to get checked out by the medical staff, while Turner's only two missed snaps of the season were the final two plays -- both kneel-downs -- in a win over the Washington Redskins in Week 14.

Center Corey Linsley's consecutive snaps streak ended at 2,768 when he left the Week 5 game against the Dallas Cowboys after 19 plays because of a concussion. The last time he missed a snap was Week 15 of 2016 when he came out for one play because his shoe came off. That season he played 803 of 804 snaps following his return from an early-season injury. He then played every snap of 2017 and 2018, including playoffs, and the first 284 snaps this season.

The Packers used 29 players on offense, the same number as the previous two seasons.

Below is this season's playing-time breakdown on offense (the defensive report will come later in the week). For comparison, last season's offensive snap totals can be found here.

Total offense plays (including playoffs): 1,205

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Receivers

Tight ends

Offensive line