After Dalvin Cook was let go by the Vikings in early June, Mattison is now expected to be the lead running back for the Vikings. The 25-year-old only has eight career games with 15-plus touches. In those games he's accrued at least 15 Fantasy points six times, with five of them coming in 2021. And in those five 2021 games he averaged 4.2 yards per carry, 5.0 targets, 4.4 receptions and 9.6 yards per catch. These are better examples of his efficiency than the games he sporadically played, as in 2022 when he had 10 or more touches just twice. But they also included plenty of negative rush plays, something he's had a high percentage of his entire career. Minnesota figures to also stick to a pass-heavy offense that could lower Mattison's touch numbers, but last year they leaned heavily on Cook to handle a large workload and comments by the coaching staff this offseason suggest they'll give Mattison the same treatment. As a volume-dependent running back, Mattison will get taken between 35th and 50th overall in most drafts.
Mattison rushed 17 times for 95 yards in Sunday's 21-13 win over the Panthers. He also caught his only target for three yards.
Mattison was efficient on the ground, posting season highs in rushing yards and yards per carry. The tailback has now topped 95 scrimmage yards in consecutive games, which should help his case to maintain the Vikings' starting tailback job ahead of Cam Akers, who finished with 51 yards on seven touches in his team debut Sunday.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Bust Candidate (Lineup Decisions)
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If we knew Mattison wasn't in jeopardy of losing his job he'd be a must-start. That's how good the matchup is. But Mattison is expected to lose carries to Akers to some degree, and the Vikings are already the pass-heaviest offense in football, throwing on average 74.5% of their snaps -- and that number is down from where it was a week ago! Consider Mattison a low-confidence starter who you'll use over any other back who you can't expect too much from, including Rachaad White, Isiah Pacheco, Najee Harris and the Jets' duo.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Tallies 125 total yards
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Mattison rushed the ball 20 times for 93 yards in Sunday's 28-24 loss to the Chargers. He added five receptions for 32 yards.
Cam Akers (coach's decision) was inactive after being acquired earlier in the week, leaving Mattison as the lead back once again. Mattison made the case to keep the role moving forward with production as both a rusher and receiver. Entering Sunday's action, he had just 62 total yards on the ground through two games, but he managed to easily surpass that mark with four of his 20 carries going for double-digit gains. Mattison also has at least four targets in every contest this season, though it remains to be seen how the Vikings plan to incorporate Akers into the offense, presumably starting in Week 4 against Carolina. Of particular concern for Mattison has been his ball security, as he's lost one fumble across three games this season and had two additional fumbles negated in Sunday's loss to the Chargers.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Still has coach's confidence
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Coach Kevin O'Connell told reporters Friday that he still views Mattison as the Vikings' lead back after a recent trade for Cam Akers, who is unlikely to play this Sunday against the Chargers, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com reports.
O'Connell went as far as saying nothing has changed for Mattison despite his rough start to the season and now the addition of a 2020 second-round pick to Minnesota's backfield. In reality, Mattison is on the hot seat, though Akers won't necessarily provide the stiffest competition given his inconsistent tenure in Los Angeles. Akers finished his rookie year strong and had a nice four-week stretch to close out last season, but it's otherwise been a series of demotions and subpar performances ever since he tore his Achilles in the summer of 2021. O'Connell said Akers won't be ready to play for his new team this Sunday, giving Mattison at least one more game with only Ty Chandler taking away any backfield snaps.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Contrarian DFS Play
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Mattison has had a miserable start to the season, but so has the Chargers' defense. Mattison is at home in the game with the highest over/under on the slate against a bad run defense. If he can't get it going here, I'm not sure he's going to. The Cam Akers trade should make Mattison even less popular, but I wouldn't expect a big role from Akers in Week 3.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Vikings haven't lost confidence
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The Vikings have not lost confidence in Mattison despite Wednesday's trade for Cam Akers, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips told reporters Thursday. "Unfortunately we've had a couple turnovers in the run game where we obviously need to clean that up. Everyone's aware of that. But we still feel very strongly in Alex and [backup Ty Chandler] and those guys being able to go in and produce," Phillips told ESPN.
Mattison has had a slow start to the season with a lost fumble in Week 2 and just 62 yards rushing on 19 carries for a paltry 3.3 YPC. Akers may not play much this week against the Chargers as he gets up to speed on the offense, but could quickly move past Ty Chandler for the backup role. Given Mattison's struggles, it's not hard to envision Akers moving into a time share with Mattison. However, Akers still has much to prove after his own underwhelming performance this season (29 yards rushing on 22 attempts in Week 1).
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: RBs to Start
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After what happened to Mattison following Minnesota's Week 2 loss at Philadelphia, I'm rooting for him to have a big outing in Week 3 against the Chargers. Mattison, who rushed for 28 yards on eight carries and lost a first-quarter fumble against the Eagles, received racist messages after the game, which is uncalled for. I hope he shuts up everyone who is doubting him with a strong showing against the Chargers, who have allowed a running back to score at least 13.0 PPR points in each of the first two games. Mattison has the chance to be a top-15 Fantasy running back in all leagues this week.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Limited touches in Week 2 loss
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Mattison rushed eight times for 28 yards and brought in three of six targets for 11 yards in the Vikings' 34-28 loss to the Eagles on Thursday night. He also lost a fumble.
Mattison had what had to be considered a second straight disappointing performance to open the season, finding running room at a premium for the most part and then also seeing his overall opportunities limited by game script. The fifth-year pro was also fortunate his first-quarter fumble didn't lead to any points, as the Eagles' Justin Evans recovered at the Vikings' 39-yard line. Mattison has garnered less than 35 rushing yards in each of his first two games as Minnesota's unquestioned lead back, leaving him with little momentum heading into what could be a solid Week 3 home matchup against the Chargers on Sunday, Sept. 24.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Underwhelms as rusher in loss
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Mattison rushed 11 times for 34 yards and brought in three of four targets for 10 yards and a touchdown in the Vikings' 20-17 loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday.
Playing his first game as the Vikings' unquestioned lead back, Mattison came up considerably short statistically overall, even when factoring in his early fourth-quarter receiving touchdown. The fifth-year back was repeatedly stifled by a traditionally tough Buccaneers run defense, so perhaps the highly inefficient performance -- which featured a long run of just nine yards -- will prove to be an outlier over time. However, Mattison doesn't exactly get a reprieve in his Week 2 matchup, a road date with the Eagles on a short week Thursday night.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Atop thin depth chart
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The Vikings enter Week 1 with only Ty Chandler and Myles Gaskin behind Mattison on the depth chart, the Star Tribune reports.
Mattison dealt with a minor injury in early August and didn't play in any preseason games, but he's been back in practice for a while now and is all set to lead the Minnesota backfield Week 1 against Tampa Bay. The extent of his workload remains to be seen, with a dominant share one of the possibilities given that Chandler and Gaskin are late-round picks in their mid-20s who combined for 20 touches last season. Both seem most likely to take playing time from Mattison in passing situations, if at all.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Doesn't play in preseason finale
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Mattison (undisclosed) did not play in Saturday's 18-17 preseason loss to the Cardinals.
Mattison has been dealing with an undisclosed injury that has kept him out of preseason action. The Vikings are likely being precautious with him given his status as the team's lead back, though practice reports in the leadup to a Week 1 matchup against the Buccaneers will ultimately provide more information about his health.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Logs another practice
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Mattison (undisclosed) took part in Thursday's practice, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
After Mattison missed the final stages of Tuesday's session while sporting a limp, he's been able to handle reps in back-to-back days. Wednesday's practice was a walkthrough, while the Vikings were back to a normal version Thursday, so he appears to be putting the injury behind him. Reserve running back Kene Nwangwu also is dealing with an unknown injury at the moment, so Minnesota signed Abram Smith on Thursday to bolster its backfield depth alongside Ty Chandler and rookie seventh-round pick DeWayne McBride.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Taking part in walkthrough
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Mattison (undisclosed) is participating in Wednesday's walk-through practice, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
While a walkthrough doesn't entail contact or sprinting, Mattison's participation nonetheless indicates that the injury he suffered Tuesday isn't too serious. He was seen limping near the end of practice, which left Ty Chandler and DeWayne McBride as the only healthy tailbacks, with Kene Nwangwu (undisclosed) already sidelined. Mattison's spot atop the depth chart seems more solid than ever, as the Vikings still haven't signed a veteran running back and reportedly haven't received great performances from their young backups this summer, according to Alec Lewis of The Athletic.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Trusted in every situation
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Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said Thursday that Mattison "always knows what he's going to do" and is a better player than people realize, Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune reports.
Mattison ran a 4.67 40-yard dash coming out of Boise State in 2019 and didn't have a single 20-yard gain on 89 touches last year, but what he lacks in explosiveness he arguably makes up for with versatility, having proven himself competent as a blocker and pass catcher while also possessing the size and strength to handle large rushing workloads. Although Phillips acknowledged that the Vikings will miss Dalvin Cook's big-play ability, the OC seemed to hint that Mattison should do a better job keeping the offense on schedule and avoiding runs for no gain or lost yardage. Whether that's true remain to be seen, but it's at least clear the Vikings have confidence in Mattison, as they re-signed him to a two-year, $7 million contract and still haven't added a veteran RB to compete for carries. In fact, they're the only team in the NFL with fewer than five tailbacks on the roster at the start of training camp, with Mattison joined by 2021 fourth-round pick Kene Nwangwu, 2022 fifth-round pick Ty Chandler and 2023 seventh-rounder DeWayne McBride.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Becomes top option in backfield
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Mattison becomes the incumbent No. 1 option in Minnesota's backfield, with the team intending to part ways with Dalvin Cook, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Mattison re-signed with the Vikings on a two-year contract this offseason, a move which now positions him as the likely starter heading into 2023. The 2019 third-round pick has flashed in his previous four years with Minnesota when asked to fill in for Cook, averaging 4.1 career yards per carry while also securing 70 of 84 targets for 526 yards. Ty Chandler and rookie seventh-round pick DeWayne McBride could also potentially earn weekly touches, though Kene Nwangwu mostly profiles as a special-teams option, leaving the Vikings without much in the way of proven depth behind Mattison. While the team could still add to the backfield ahead of Week 1, Mattison currently faces massive opportunity and is a lock to rocket up fantasy draft boards.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Staying in Minnesota
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The Vikings and Mattison agreed to terms on a two-year contract Wednesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
Mattison has played second fiddle to fellow running back Dalvin Cook for his entire four-year career, but the former has had a handful of chances to shine, starting in six of his 59 appearances. Overall, Mattison has averaged just 4.1 yards per carry and scored 14 touchdowns, but he's also reeled in 70 of 84 targets for 526 yards, good for an 83.3 percent catch rate. There have been rumblings this offseason that the Vikings may be willing to part ways with Cook, so Mattison could benefit in 2023 if the structure of the team's backfield is altered in the coming months.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Sleepers (Start/Sit)
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There's a good chance that the Vikings don't play Dalvin Cook for the entire game against the Bears in Week 18, which means we could get additional playing time for Mattison. And in deeper leagues, that makes him a flex play given the matchup. Chicago is No. 3 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs, and five running backs in the past four games have scored at least 17 PPR points against the Bears, including D'Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams in Week 17. If Mattison were guaranteed to get double digits in touches this week then he could be a standout Fantasy option in all leagues.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Sleeper RBs
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There's a good chance that the Vikings don't play Dalvin Cook for the entire game against the Bears in Week 18, which means we could get additional playing time for Mattison. And in deeper leagues, that makes him a flex play given the matchup. Chicago is No. 3 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs, and five running backs in the past four games have scored at least 17 PPR points against the Bears, including D'Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams in Week 17. If Mattison were guaranteed to get double digits in touches this week then he could be a standout Fantasy option in all leagues.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Week 18 Waiver Priority List
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The Vikings will likely play their starters as normal in Week 18 at Chicago, but there's a chance Dalvin Cook's playing time could be reduced if the game is decided to rest him for the playoffs. If that happens then Mattison could get additional touches, and he would be a sneaky sleeper in deeper leagues against the Bears, who are No. 3 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs.
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Vikings' Alexander Mattison: Gets more work in blowout loss
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Mattison had eight carries for 38 yards and had one reception for seven yards in Sunday's loss at Green Bay.
Mattison played 23 snaps on offense as he got more work once the game became a blowout. He could get significant time or even start Week 18 against the Bears if the Vikings decide to rest starters head of the playoffs.
