What to do with the MN backfield?

[killer_of_giants]

This is squarely a volume play, not a talent one.

i think everyone and his dog agrees with this. no one said he's like henry, hunt or pollard (none of which has ever been a pure "handcuff" like mattison).

he needs a lot of touches to get to a hundred yards, but he has a chance to be a back end RB1 this season. maaaybe two (i doubt it).
i don't think he's good enough to command the same amount of touches a healthy dalvin did, so i can see someone else in that backfield being given more of a run than what mattison got in the past 4 years.

[Shoreline Steamers]

This is squarely a volume play, not a talent one.

i think everyone and his dog agrees with this. no one said he's like henry, hunt or pollard (none of which has ever been a pure "handcuff" like mattison).

he needs a lot of touches to get to a hundred yards, but he has a chance to be a back end RB1 this season. maaaybe two (i doubt it).
i don't think he's good enough to command the same amount of touches a healthy dalvin did, so i can see someone else in that backfield being given more of a run than what mattison got in the past 4 years.

Being admittedly oblivious to the Vikings current cap situation, I could situationally see them as possible contenders for a post Week 1 veteran RB addition. There's still several out there, and nobody's beating down the door to sign any of them. Grab one off the shelf for the price of a non-guaranteed contract. Instant RBBC (and diminished volume for Mattison).

[Cameron Giles]

Yeah it's a volume play for Mattison if anything

Which is why I just wouldn't buy in dynasty. There's nothing special about an RB whose best trait is volume. If he isn't good or gets injured then it's onto the next Vikings back.

[Jigga94]

Yeah it's a volume play for Mattison if anything

Which is why I just wouldn't buy in dynasty. There's nothing special about an RB whose best trait is volume. If he isn't good or gets injured then it's onto the next Vikings back.

Yup, just posted in a team advice thread that I wouldn't pay a 1st, you can just do so much more with the pick than locking in a flex RB for maybe 2 years. A 2nd is a good buy imo though if you need him, but I doubt most owners are letting him go for that now

[Gazzerk]

Reasonable Cold Water on the Alexander Mattison hype train. Avert your eyes, ye Mattison faithful...

Henry BEHIND Murray in 2017
39.7% Carry Percentage

Hunt BEHIND Chubb in 2020
40.0% Carry Percentage

Pollard BEHIND Elliott in 2021
31.7% Carry Percentage

Mattison BEHIND Cook in 2022
18.3% Carry Percentage

one of these is NOT like the others

He's never shown that he's a special back deserving of a bigger workload when compared to a true bellcow. This is squarely a volume play, not a talent one.

And, because of course he hasn't:

Alexander Mattison is heading into his 5th Season and has NEVER eclipsed…

8.0 Fantasy PPG
35.0% Carry Percentage
8.0% Target Share
1.20 Yards per Team Rush Attempt
0.50 Yards per Team Pass Attempt

I don't know why we're giving him any benefit of the doubt over incoming 1st round rookies. I'd definitely rather take the moonshot on QJ or Addison... probably even Charb and Zay.

He's literally played 4 seasons and proven about as much thus far.

You’re not wrong but these are some pretty unfair comparisons and I’m not sure they are relevant. Henry is an undeniable monster and Murray was on his age 29 season. They needed to see that Henry was ready to step up. Hunt was already an established elite RB when he joined the Browns. They only got their hands on him because he’s a garbage human being and the Browns love awful people. The fact that Chubb held Hunt off is more a testament to how great Chubb is. And Pollard turned out to be a great contrast to Zeke’s play style and gave them an awesome 1 2 punch.

Mattison is more of an all around back like Cook. I don’t think anyone is trying to say that Mattison is some generational talent that has been stuck behind Cook but he is definitely capable and should now have a massive opportunity. Those things tend to lead to fantasy points. The Vikings have always been very dedicated to Cook and when he is healthy it’s the Cook show. They have a history of leaning heavily on their guy. Hopefully Mattison is now their guy and he gets that same treatment.

[Gazzerk]

Yeah it's a volume play for Mattison if anything

Which is why I just wouldn't buy in dynasty. There's nothing special about an RB whose best trait is volume. If he isn't good or gets injured then it's onto the next Vikings back.

Yup, just posted in a team advice thread that I wouldn't pay a 1st, you can just do so much more with the pick than locking in a flex RB for maybe 2 years. A 2nd is a good buy imo though if you need him, but I doubt most owners are letting him go for that now

This is well said. He’s a guy that if you happened to have him already then he’s either a great sell for a 1st or a strong hold. Sending a 2nd to get him is a great move but is unlikely. Regardless of what anyone thinks about Mattison, it is hard to get your hands on an RB that is projected solid volume. Obviously, that isn’t the strongest case for a dynasty buy but a lot of people had already gotten him for cheap awhile back. I had gotten him as a throw in handcuff when last season I moved Najee for Cook, Mattison and what ended up as the 1.03 Then I moved Cook while he was tearing it up for Gibson and was ended up as the 1.01 I got really lucky. However, that owner didn’t even ask to have Mattison thrown is as a handcuff and I was more than happy to hang onto him. I have very little investment in him so I’ll gladly ride the hopefully production but I’ll also quickly flip for a 1st if the opportunity presents itself.

[mild]

Being admittedly oblivious to the Vikings current cap situation, I could situationally see them as possible contenders for a post Week 1 veteran RB addition. There's still several out there, and nobody's beating down the door to sign any of them. Grab one off the shelf for the price of a non-guaranteed contract. Instant RBBC (and diminished volume for Mattison).

This was nicely called.

"What to do" indeed.

[Cameron Giles]

Buying backs mostly based on volume continues to be a terrible decision, but there's always that one RB every season who people do it with. That said, Minnesota's run blocking hasn't been very good.

I think Mattison is still the guy here though, but the peak sell window is long gone.

[mild]

It's more money than a lot of teams spent. He's their top paid RB. 2025 is 2 years. That's a long time in the span of a RB. I think the plan is for Mattison to be their top back this year. Seems like it, anyways. Almost 6.5 guaranteed isn't nothing, it's more than they pay rookies. They could have let him walk, they didn't want to. Seems like they had a plan, and cutting Cook and keeping Mattison was likely it. We'll see how he does, but as for now, he's top dog in a potent offense.

Mattison released.

Vikings informed RB Alexander Mattison of his release.

As the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Andrew Krammer points out, the Vikings are eating almost $3 million in guaranteed money while saving just $600,000 against the cap. It’s an admission Mattison’s two-year deal was a mistake as the Vikes attempted to move on from Dalvin Cook. The move was first-guessed last spring, and Mattison responded with continued inefficiency both as a rusher and pass catcher. He simply isn’t a starting-level back, though he is versatile enough that he should still command interest as a backup. Guaranteed money might be difficult to come by in a glutted market, however. Ty Chandler is the No. 1 back on the Vikings’ current 90-man roster, but they should add at least 1-2 potential competitors.

They'd rather eat 3 million than rely on this guy carrying the rock again.

Back to a committee he goes.

Good times.

[PigeonBoys]

It's more money than a lot of teams spent. He's their top paid RB. 2025 is 2 years. That's a long time in the span of a RB. I think the plan is for Mattison to be their top back this year. Seems like it, anyways. Almost 6.5 guaranteed isn't nothing, it's more than they pay rookies. They could have let him walk, they didn't want to. Seems like they had a plan, and cutting Cook and keeping Mattison was likely it. We'll see how he does, but as for now, he's top dog in a potent offense.

Mattison released.

Vikings informed RB Alexander Mattison of his release.

As the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Andrew Krammer points out, the Vikings are eating almost $3 million in guaranteed money while saving just $600,000 against the cap. It’s an admission Mattison’s two-year deal was a mistake as the Vikes attempted to move on from Dalvin Cook. The move was first-guessed last spring, and Mattison responded with continued inefficiency both as a rusher and pass catcher. He simply isn’t a starting-level back, though he is versatile enough that he should still command interest as a backup. Guaranteed money might be difficult to come by in a glutted market, however. Ty Chandler is the No. 1 back on the Vikings’ current 90-man roster, but they should add at least 1-2 potential competitors.

They'd rather eat 3 million than rely on this guy carrying the rock again.

Back to a committee he goes.

Good times.

As a Vikings fan, good. 3 straight years of under 4 YPC, 3 fumbles last year at very costly times. I was always more in favor of Ty Chandler and now they can hopefully find someone that can go between the tackles and Chandler can serve as COP back.

[JoeJoe88]

Chandler will start getting steamed up now, but I would advise against going out and pursuing him. I would fully expect Minnesota to draft a rb and I’d have to imagine that guy will have every opportunity to be the starter.

Remember, Chandler couldn’t really get on the field over Mattison until he got hurt and they had no choice, and we see now how much they think of Mattison.

[PigeonBoys]

Chandler will start getting steamed up now, but I would advise against going out and pursuing him. I would fully expect Minnesota to draft a rb and I’d have to imagine that guy will have every opportunity to be the starter.

Remember, Chandler couldn’t really get on the field over Mattison until he got hurt and they had no choice, and we see now how much they think of Mattison.

Wholeheartedly agree, they NEED to bring in someone and/or more than one RB, I mean they resorted to Cam Akers last year. They were dire for a running game and it really hurt their offensive efficiency. Would love a vet contract and there are a lot of options out there. I don't think they'll look to the draft here I think they'll bring in a competent RB in FA.

[Jigga94]

Chandler will start getting steamed up now, but I would advise against going out and pursuing him. I would fully expect Minnesota to draft a rb and I’d have to imagine that guy will have every opportunity to be the starter.

Remember, Chandler couldn’t really get on the field over Mattison until he got hurt and they had no choice, and we see now how much they think of Mattison.

I agree. One of the worst backfields in the league

[mild]

Chandler will start getting steamed up now, but I would advise against going out and pursuing him. I would fully expect Minnesota to draft a rb and I’d have to imagine that guy will have every opportunity to be the starter.

Remember, Chandler couldn’t really get on the field over Mattison until he got hurt and they had no choice, and we see now how much they think of Mattison.

I agree. One of the worst backfields in the league

I feel like they'll just draft a couple Day 3 guys and let them all compete.

Minny kind of has the feeling of the Rams from last year where they're trying to do a soft-reset... except they might lose Kirk in the process from the sounds.

[MacDaddy123]

Never fear, Cam Akers will save the Vikings backfield!!!