The Vikings are 'really, really excited' about Ty Chandler
The Vikings' running game was a mess in 2023.
It was the first time since 2018 the team failed to have a 1,000-yard rusher. Alexander Mattison became the first player in Vikings history to lead the team in rushing yards and fail to rush for a single touchdown. While the ground game was a bit of a disaster last season, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell is very optimistic that Ty Chandler will change that narrative in 2024.
"The way Ty finished the season was a real positive," O'Connell told assembled media Tuesday at the 2024 NFL Combine in Indianapolis. "Going Year 2 into Year 3 will be a huge opportunity for him to continue his growth."
Chandler finished the season with 461 rushing yards on just 102 attempts (4.5 yards per carry). The second-year back provided a bright spot, and room for hope, as the season was collapsing after the injury to quarterback Kirk Cousins derailed the team's hopes of bouncing back from a 1-4 start.
Chandler was the team's fifth-round pick in the 2022 draft and the fourth running back taken in the previous six drafts by Minnesota. Mattison was taken three years prior in the third round out of Boise State.
Last offseason Mattison was handed RB1 duties after the team moved on from Dalvin Cook but struggled to fill Cook's shoes, rushing for 700 yards on a paltry 3.9 yards per carry.
"Thought Alex did some good things in our system, ran hard, ran physical," said O'Connell. "As you go through the cut up, evaluation process after the season you can really, kind of, gauge things that worked well, things that didn't, things that we need to improve on, things that I can do better as a coach. But then you see some of the individual performances, that maybe don't always jump out on the stat sheet but it was a critical play here and there.
"I feel good about what those guys were able to do and more importantly what we can build on from there. Specifically with Ty towards the end of the season I thought seeing him come on there and kind of really start to assert himself was a real positive for our team."
O'Connell continued the praise for Chandler on Paul Allen's radio show Tuesday saying, "[I] absolutely love where Ty finished the year."
While the praise was flowing O'Connell noted there is still a lot of room for improvement heading into Year 3.
"The big thing for him now, from Year 2 to Year 3, is just that every down consistency," said O'Connell. "So that he can get those consistent touches, volume touches in a game. But to do that he's got to [handle] every phase of our offense consistently with no letup. What does that look like? Catching the football out of the backfield, blitz pickup, understanding the mental game. I call it that mental warfare that's going on between offense and defense, snap in and snap out. But I love where Ty is at. Going to be a big offseason for him. Really, really excited about Ty."
