Inside The Vikings

Should Vikings Give Ty Chandler a Bigger Role Than Alexander Mattison?

Mattison has been public enemy No. 1 for the Vikings this season. Is it time to unleash Chandler?

Will Ragatz

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Will this be the week the Vikings make Ty Chandler their No. 1 running back?

If you ask most fans, Alexander Mattison's role should've been reduced two months ago. He's been public enemy No. 1 in Minnesota this season, the subject of a never-ending stream of criticism on social media. Whether it's been totally justified or not, Mattison has been an easy scapegoat for fans frustrated by the Vikings' inefficient run game and turnover woes.

To be clear, it has been a rough season for the fifth-year veteran, who was brought back this offseason to replace Dalvin Cook. After four years of showing flashes as Cook's backup, Mattison has started all 11 games in 2023 and hasn't looked very much like the player we saw in his first couple seasons. He's averaging just 3.7 yards per carry — which is actually in line with his marks from the last two years — and doesn't have a single rushing touchdown, although he does have three as a receiver. More importantly, he has struggled to hold onto the football.

Technically, Mattison's critical fumble in the third quarter of Sunday night's loss against the Broncos was just his second of the season, the first one coming against the Eagles in Week 2. But he had another lost fumble in that Eagles game negated by a defensive penalty, and he's had at least one other ball pop out shortly after he was ruled down by contact. PFF has also charged Mattison with five drops as a pass-catcher this season, which is tied for second-most among all RBs.

First, there were those who wanted to see more Cam Akers, the ex-Ram who the Vikings acquired via trade in September. Unfortunately, Akers' season ended when he tore his Achilles in Atlanta earlier this month. Now it's Chandler, who has seen 14 and 15 touches the last two weeks and could eat into Mattison's workload even further.

Across 48 NFL regular season touches, Chandler does not have a fumble or a drop. He also very clearly brings more burst and explosiveness to the table than Mattison, who has 148 carries this season without a 20-yard gain.

"I think it's pretty obvious to see his burst, his athleticism," Kevin O'Connell said of Chandler this week. "He's an exciting player with the ball in his hands. We try to find different ways to get it in his hands throughout the game. He does play a critical role right now on our offense to be a featured player, (and) we're continuing to add to his workload every single week because he has earned those opportunities. I'm excited about his long-term future, but I'm also excited about his opportunities coming up Monday night and how he can impact the game."

There's a clear difference in sample size between Mattison and Chandler, but the numbers all seem to favor the second-year player who was taken in the fifth round last year. Chandler has averaged 4.8 yards per carry (which is admittedly helped by an easy 31 yards on a fake punt against the Broncos) to Mattison's 3.7. He has a better PFF rushing grade (72.9 vs. 63.8). Out of 68 running backs with at least 30 carries this season, Chandler ranks 28th in both rushing grade and DVOA. Mattison is 59th and 62nd, respectively.

With all of that said, it's worth thinking about why Mattison has continued to operate as the starter all season. O'Connell and the Vikings have clearly believed that he gives them the best opportunity to win games; if that wasn't the case, he would have played quite a bit less. That's not to say that the decisions of NFL coaches can't ever be questioned, but there are real football reasons why Mattison has seen the field as much as he has this season.

Turn on the tape and you see a player who runs hard, has been hurt by poor blocking, and has generally solid vision. The Broncos game was a good example. Outside of the fumble — which obviously can't happen — Mattison ran the ball very well, averaging 4.5 yards per carry while forcing seven missed tackles (per PFF). Chandler ran it well too, but there are some concerns about his vision that pop up on tape and he's not as physical of a between-the-tackles option.

Then there's the pass protection element, which can't be overlooked. Mattison has been slightly above-average in that phase, with a 62.3 PFF pass blocking grade on 64 snaps. Chandler's grade is a very poor 26.9 on a small sample of 13 snaps. He had a nice blitz pickup in the second quarter on a play that turned into a chunk gain for Brandon Powell, but he couldn't sustain a block on Josey Jewell in the fourth quarter. Jewell got through Chandler and hit Josh Dobbs as he threw, resulting in an interception.

On Wednesday, I asked O'Connell to highlight some of the things that he believes Mattison does well, mentioning the amount of criticism he's taken this year.

Alexander Mattison has lost two fumbles this season and has had a couple other close calls / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

"Alex has been incredibly consistent in his role in every phase of our offense," he said. "I think there’s been some things that he's kind of made to come to life, even in his last game where maybe it wasn’t blocked as clean as we had hoped, if we had an un-scouted look or whatever it was, and Alex found a way to churn out some yards and stay efficient. I like how physical he runs. I think he does a really nice job in the protection phase. I think he does a really nice job of catching the ball out of the backfield when we can give him a chance and turning those into opportunities."

"As far as the criticism goes, it’s not something we’re really concerned with," he added. "One thing I’d say, one thing I’ve talked to Alex about is ball security and how important that is for him to be able to continue to churn out yards and get opportunities. For us as an offense, we can’t put the ball on the ground. Alex knows that. I like kind of the mix we have right now. Ty is getting a few more carries to kind of provide maybe a little more burst and athleticism, but they complement each other well with how we’re using him, and we’ll continue to figure out what that balance looks like."

The Vikings will continue to take a committee approach to their backfield. And despite sticking with Mattison all season as the leader in that committee, it sounds like his latest fumble might finally spur change. They've poured a remarkable amount of time this year into addressing their fumbling problem, and it's something that they just can't have continue.

"It's very important that our guys understand how important it is to possess the football," O'Connell said. "It's a winning and losing stat. So, we have to be critical to make sure there is an accountability factor there."

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Will Ragatz
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