What Does Vikings' Cam Akers Trade Mean For Alexander Mattison?

The Vikings have added Akers to their backfield. What might his role look like?

Seeking anything that might help boost their struggling running game, the Vikings acquired running back Cam Akers from the Rams on Wednesday. It's virtually a no-cost move, as Minnesota is trading a conditional 2026 sixth-round pick to Los Angeles for Akers and a conditional 2026 seventh.

This is a rather on-brand addition from Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. During his roughly 20-month tenure in his current role, he has shown an affinity for taking chances on players in their mid-20s who were once high draft picks (examples include Jalen Reagor, Ross Blacklock, T.J. Hockenson, Byron Murphy Jr., and Marcus Davenport). Akers is 24 years old and was the 52nd overall pick out of Florida State in 2020. Adofo-Mensah also clearly loves elite ten-yard splits in a player's athletic profile, which Akers has.

Through two weeks, the Vikings are dead last in the NFL with just 69 rushing yards and are the only team in the league without a ten-yard carry. They came into this season hoping to add balance to their offense by improving their efficiency on the ground. That hasn't happened. They've been unable to generate any sort of run game, which has led Kevin O'Connell's group to throw the ball 78 percent of the time — by far the highest percentage in the league. Facing a 20-point deficit against the Eagles factors into that statistic, but the point remains. 

The hope is that Akers might be able to help. Last season, he ran for 786 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging a solid 4.2 yards per carry. His 80.4 PFF rushing grade ranked 19th out of 42 backs with at least 100 attempts in 2023. Akers has familiarity with O'Connell, having played under him with the Rams during his first two NFL seasons. Prior to tearing his Achilles in 2021, he averaged 4.3 yards per carry as a rookie. Notably, Akers finished last season with four straight games of at least 100 yards from scrimmage. He ran for 410 yards on 75 carries (5.46 YPC) during that span, adding another 98 yards on nine receptions.

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What does this move mean for Alexander Mattison and the Vikings' other running backs? For the time being, Mattison is still the clear-cut No. 1 option in this backfield. The Vikings signed him to a two-year extension this offseason and remain confident in his abilities despite his slow start. But it's been an extremely slow start. Mattison has just 62 yards on 19 carries (3.3 YPC), though he did score on a receiving touchdown against the Buccaneers. He hasn't had much room to run, but for what it's worth, his 55.2 PFF rushing grade ranks 43rd out of the 48 backs with at least ten carries this season.

Although Mattison had been productive in the past when filling in for Dalvin Cook, his yards per carry went from 4.57 in his first two seasons to 3.72 over the previous two seasons. At the very least, the Vikings adding Akers puts some pressure on Mattison to start producing. He has a juicy matchup this weekend against the Chargers, who allowed more yards per carry (5.4) than any other team in 2022.

Perhaps as early as this Sunday, Akers will get opportunities to show what he can do. Those could increase over time if he's able to help the Vikings' run game find any kind of efficiency. If he plays well, he could turn the backfield into a committee approach, with Akers' speed and Mattison's power theoretically complimenting each other nicely. Akers also graded well as a pass blocker last year, which is important in Minnesota's offense. It's not too difficult to envision either of the extremes playing out here, from Akers sputtering with the Vikings to Akers supplanting Mattison as the lead back. The most likely outcome, of course, is somewhere in the middle.

Mattison isn't affected by this move as much as the Vikings' other RBs. Speculatively, could this signal that the coaching staff hasn't been impressed by second-year player Ty Chandler? He remains the RB2 for now, but Akers could take that role quickly. Veteran Myles Gaskin, who the Vikings signed a few weeks ago, could potentially be cut as the corresponding move when the teams make the trade official (it's pending a physical, as of Wednesday night).

The Vikings gave up very little to get Akers, so it's possible this trade doesn't make much of an impact. But given his decent track record and the Vikings' abysmal start to the season from a rushing standpoint, he figures to at least receive a chance to become part of the solution in that department.

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