Coming into the 2020 season, there were big things expected from Alexander Mattison. The second-year running back put up a solid rookie season and with the added bonus of being a favorite of offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, there was a possibility that an increased role could lead to a breakout season.
Instead, Mattison spent most of 2020 on the back burner as Dalvin Cook signed a five-year extension and was served 356 touches. The results were positive as the Vikings ranked fifth in rushing yards and eighth in rushing attempts, but his usage put him on a trajectory toward 400 touches late in the season.
The number 400 has been the demise of several great running backs over the past 20 years, and if the Vikings had used Cook in the same fashion all season long, he would have gone well over that mark. With their success in the running game and their offensive philosophy, it’s valid to wonder what happened to Mattison.
The question starts with why the Vikings would use more of Mattison in the first place. With Cook receiving $63 million and $28.2 million in guarantees, Cook’s usage in the second half signaled the Vikings wanting to get more out of their investment. More specifically, using Cook was the best way to make Kirk Cousins more efficient and get him out of the slump that saw him toss 10 interceptions in the first six games.
But the decision to run the ball more should have slanted in Mattison’s favor. The Boise State product came off a season where he ranked third in breakaway percentage, which measures the percentage of carries that results in runs of ten yards or more, and finished with more yards after contact (3.22) than Cook (3.06) per Pro Football Focus.
With more runs, there should have been more opportunity, but the Vikings opted to keep Mattison in a “in case of emergency” role.
That emergency sprung up in a Week 4 against the Seattle Seahawks when Cook left early with a groin injury. Going up against a defense that ranked seventh in Football Outsider’s defensive DVOA metric against the run, Mattison made the most of his opportunity, posting a career-high 112 yards. While Vikings fans wanted that number to be 113, Mattison proved ready for the challenge as he got the start the following week against the Atlanta Falcons.
But things changed during that game as the Vikings fell behind early. Cousins had a first-half meltdown, and the Vikings were forced to put the running game on the shelf, thus leaving Mattison with just 10 carries on the afternoon.
Such has been the case for Mattison during his short career. When the Vikings are ahead, they use Mattison as a powerful, late-game hammer that can collect yards after contact. When the Vikings are behind, the staff feels like Mattison isn’t of use to them despite a better receiving grade (63.8) than Cook (62.1).
Whatever the case may be, Mattison’s usage dropped after the Atlanta game. As the Vikings closed in on .500 following the bye week, Mattison was an afterthought, logging 8.1 snaps per game from Weeks 8 through 15. Take out a 16-snap performance in a Week 9 win over the Detroit Lions and that number drops to 6.6 snaps per game.
A possible catalyst for this could have been Mattison’s appendectomy, which kept him out for Weeks 13 and 14 but could have also affected him before that. It also came at a time where Cook was getting pounded due to the excessive workload that teams around the league try to avoid.
Comparing the Vikings to the final four teams that made the playoffs, a two-back stable is something that has gotten more out of the running game. The Green Bay Packers deployed Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams, and AJ Dillon to produce the seventh-best rushing attack, but even the other three pass-happy teams utilized a number of different running backs.
The Kansas City Chiefs ranked 16th in rushing thanks to a tandem of Clyde Edwards-Helaire and midseason signing Le’Veon Bell. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got more out of Ronald Jones once they added Leonard Fournette. Even the Buffalo Bills, who usually spend their time throwing the ball to Stefon Diggs, established the run by using Devin Singletary and Zack Moss.
This doesn’t just go for playoff teams. Out of the teams that ranked in the top 10 in rushing, only the Tennessee Titans had a larger percentage of carries from their leading rusher and only four teams topped a 40 percent share.
| Ravens | Lamar Jackson | 159 of 555 carries | 28.6% |
| Titans | Derrick Henry | 378 of 521 carries | 72.5% |
| Browns | Kareem Hunt | 198 of 495 carries | 40.0% |
| Patriots | Damien Harris/ Cam Newton | 137 of 502 carries | 27.2% |
| Vikings | Dalvin Cook | 312 of 468 carries | 66.6% |
| Saints | Alvin Kamara | 187 of 494 carries | 37.8% |
| Cardinals | Kenyan Drake | 239 of 479 carries | 37.8% |
| Packers | Aaron Jones | 201 of 443 carries | 45.3% |
| Eagles | Miles Sanders | 164 of 403 carries | 40.6% |
| Rams | Cam Akers | 145 of 473 carries | 30.6% |
When it comes to which teams the Vikings could emulate from this list, the best examples would be the Cleveland Browns and the Packers.
Former offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski used Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt to perfection in his first season in Cleveland and that coaxed a career season out of quarterback Baker Mayfield (3,563 yards, 26 TD, 8 INT). This would seem to be the floor for Cousins in a two-back system and could reach as high as Rodgers (4,299 yards, 48 TD, 5 INT) did with the Packers in Matt LeFleur’s run-happy system.
With a quarterback that would operate at peak efficiency and a running game that’s effective all season long, it becomes more of a question why the Vikings aren’t using Mattison more. This makes just one more question the Vikings’ new offensive coordinator will have to address heading into the 2021 season.
