How RB Alexander Mattison Has Benefited Raiders So Far

Las Vegas Raiders running back Alexander Mattison is familiar with the wide-zone offense and has been able to help teach it to the rest of his room.

Aug 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Las Vegas Raiders running back Alexander Mattison (22) runs with the ball against the Minnesota Vikings in the second quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

The Las Vegas Raiders have a lot of depth in their running back room, consisting of players of all different ages and experience.

What's important when you have depth is to know your role. As Zamir White leads the way as the starting back this season, it's important for fans to note what his backup, first-year Raider running back Alexander Mattison, brings to the table.

"He's [Mattison] a pro's pro," said Raiders coach Antonio Pierce when he addressed the media on Wednesday. "He's been in this system -- I think that's the best part about it. The language that he's familiar with, the concepts and scheme of how to play and how to run the wide-zone has been really good to help out Zamir [White] and Ameer [Abdullah] and those gentlemen who have been in different systems. But he's been Steady Eddy. You just watch him -- maybe it's not flash to the eye, but he's consistent, he's checking all the boxes from his alignments, assignments. He's accountable; you can trust him on third down for protection. Been pretty good from out of the backfield as well."

Mattison joined the Raiders after spending his first five NFL seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. The veteran really began to hit his peak towards the end of his career in Minnesota. Mattison became the team's full time starter in his final season with the club before unfortunately going down with an injury in the Vikings' 14 matchup with the Raiders, which had him limited in Minnesota's final three games of the season.

Mattison rushed for a total of 700 yards last season while adding 192 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. In total, he recorded 2,370 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns, 718 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns in 75 games with Minnesota.

The sixth-year veteran saw some action against his former team in the Raiders' first preseason game. He rushed for 15 yards on three carries.

We'll see if Mattison is incorportated more into the offense on Saturday when the Raiders host the Dallas Cowboys for their second of three preseason games.

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