The Minnesota Vikings’ offseason pivot at running back included rewarding running back Alexander Mattison with a two-year, $7 million contract after the decision was made to move on from veteran Dalvin Cook.
Cook was nearing the end of a five-year, $63 million contract and the assumption was the Vikings wanted to flip to more of a running back by committee situation. That would start with Mattison but not require him to be a bellcow in the backfield.
The likely scenario as training camp opened was that Mattison would be the lead back (1A) and Ty Chandler and Kene Nwangwu would battle for the job as the 1B running back.
But during the Vikings’ 2-4 start little has gone as expected and the running back situation is one of them. The Vikings are 30th in the NFL in rushing, averaging 75 yards per game, and they join the Pittsburgh Steelers as one of two teams without a rushing touchdown this season.
So what’s gone wrong?
What happened to the committee approach?
It became clear in Week 1 that Mattison was going to be the primary ball carrier and the running back behind him (Chandler to start with) was going to be used on the rare occasions.
In the Vikings’ 20-17 loss to Tampa Bay at U.S. Bank Stadium, Mattison rushed for 34 yards on 11 carries and caught three of the four passes thrown his way for 10 yards and a touchdown. Chandler tied with quarterback Kirk Cousins with three rushing attempts and caught one pass for 18 yards. Chandler’s three carries went for zero yards.
Chandler, a fifth-round pick in the 2022 draft, had only one carry for no yards and caught two passes for 9 yards in a Week 2 loss at Philadelphia. The Vikings abandoned the run game in that one as Mattison had eight carries for 28 yards.
A few days after that Monday night loss, the Vikings made a move that seemed to address their lack of faith in Chandler and acquired former second-round pick Cam Akers from the Rams in a trade that had conditional draft picks going both ways.
That looked to be a major upgrade over Myles Gaskin, whom the Vikings signed just before the season after he was released by the Dolphins. Gaskin would eventually end up on the practice squad before being signed by the Rams this week.
Akers appeared to be the type of back the Vikings were looking for to pair with Mattison …
Cam Akers has become the forgotten man
… only it hasn’t worked that way.
It was no surprise that Akers wasn’t active for the Vikings’ Week 3 loss to the Chargers. That game came only four days after he was acquired and Mattison had a a good day, rushing for 93 yards on 20 carries (a 4.7-yard average) and catching five passes for 32 yards.
Chandler received only three carries and the wait to see what Akers could bring was on.
The Vikings earned their first victory of the season the following week, beating Carolina, and Mattison had his best game of the season against the still-winless Panthers. He rushed for 95 yards on 17 carries (a 5.6-yard average). Akers had 40 yards on five carries and caught two passes, one more than Mattison had on the day.
The closest distribution of the ball in the run game occurred in Week 5 against Kansas City. Mattison gained 26 yards on eight carries and caught two passes for 20 yards and a touchdown, and Akers had five carries for 15 yards and caught two passes for 3 yards.
However, it was a play that Mattison failed to make that stood out in the Vikings’ 27-20 loss. The Vikings were trailing by seven and facing a second-and-7 at the Chiefs’ 19-yard line in the fourth quarter when Mattison dropped a screen pass from Cousins that looked like a sure touchdown.
Mattison had blockers in front of him and a path to the end zone as the ball hit the turf. The Vikings ended the series with Cousins throwing an incompletion toward Jordan Addison on fourth down.
That drop was part of a troubling pattern for Mattison, whose five drops are tied for the most in the NFL with Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua. The difference is that Mattison’s drops have come on 26 targets; Nacua has been targeted 66 times.
Offensive line has done its job
I know what you’re saying. That the Vikings’ lack of success on the ground has nothing to do with Mattison, or any of the other running backs, and that it’s the continued failure of the offensive line.
The struggles of the line in recent seasons makes that an easy assumption. The problem is it’s no longer true. The Vikings’ offensive line is actually doing a fine job this season.
Don’t believe me?
Pro Football Focus gives right tackle Brian O’Neill an 89.2 run-blocking grade, the best out of 70 tackles in the NFL. Left tackle Christian Darrisaw is fourth with an 83.9 grade; left guard Ezra Cleveland is 11th with a 72.8 grade; right guard Ed Ingram is 13th with a 69.5 grade; and center Garrett Bradbury has a very solid 79.5 grade but is not ranked because he hasn’t played enough snaps.
Tight end Josh Oliver, who was signed as a free agent this offseason because of his ability to block, has delivered an 88.8 grade to rank first among 75 NFL tight ends in run blocking. T.J. Hockenson is 32nd, with a 58.9 mark, but it’s Oliver who is the key when it comes to opening up rushing lanes.
Simply put, the blocks are there but the Vikings aren’t finding them.
How long will Kevin O'Connell stick with a one-running back system?
There is no one suggesting that Mattison lose his job — and considering his lack of success with the Jets, the decision to move on from Cook looks like a wise one — but you have to wonder when O’Connell will begin switching it up more between Mattison and Akers.
Any thought that the Kansas City game meant the Vikings were getting closer to a committee approach, was dashed last Sunday during Minnesota’s victory over the Bears.
Mattison had a game-high 18 carries but gained only 44 yards (a 2.4-yard average). Akers was handed the ball only once and picked up 8 yards. Mattison also was targeted seven times and caught four passes for 28 yards, while Akers caught one pass for 7 yards. Despite all of his carries this season, Mattison’s longest run is for only 17 yards and his 320 yards on the ground places him 19th in the league.
The Vikings relied on their bell cow running backs for years, starting in 2007 when they drafted Adrian Peterson in the first round and continuing in 2017 when Cook was selected in the second round.
Since that time, the NFL’s focus on running backs has changed. The run game remains important, but the need to have one guy carry the load is no longer the emphasis for many teams.
The Vikings’ decision to shake up their running back room this offseason, and save money on the position, appeared to be an indication they also were changing their strategy. Exactly why they haven’t followed through on that, and why they are asking more of Mattison than he can give, remains one of the biggest questions of 2023.
Judd Zulgad is co-host of the Purple Daily Podcast and Mackey & Judd podcast at www.skornorth.com
