Prior to the arrival of Kevin O’Connell in the Twin Cities, the Minnesota Vikings were known for the current game, instead of the Pass-First team they have been since. Adrian Peterson is one of the best running backs of all time. His name is engraved in the NFL record books and certainly also in the franchise books.
The successor of Peterson, Dalvin Cook, was also a prominent runner in the competition and made four Pro Bowls. For a while the attack walked through him even though he was teammates with Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson.
Former Viking can be in trouble

In recent years, having good back -ups has been a popular strategy for NFL franchises to keep the primary Rusher fresh. Cook’s Backup was prepared in 2019. Alexander Mattison, from BOISE State, was Rick Spielman’s third Rounder that year.
The Vikings left him free in the low season of 2024 and he joined the Las Vegas Raiders. This year he was again a free agent and the Miami Dolphins took a chance. He may already be on thin ice.
Competition
The dolphins have had a phenomenal hasty attack since he hired Mike McDaniel in 2022. From the 49 people, where he coordinated the running game of Kyle Shanahan, he brought that expertise with him.

The Toprusher on the depth card is De’von Achane, a third -year player who is one of the most explosive RBs in his first two seasons with a career remedy per point of 5.6 yards.
Behind him, the dolphins 2024 use fourth rounder Jaylen Wright. He is a fast back again and secured 249 Hurrying Last year.
Because these two boys are faster Rushers who miss the size of a real kneller, it was logical to sign the bigger Mattison. In the design, however, the dolphins selected Ollie Gordon II from the state of Oklahoma. It is 6’1 ″ and 226 pounds and can simply slide into that role.
Mattison has not reached 4.0 yards per Carry since 2020 in a season, and his last few years are fairly disappointing.
Viking career

The Vikings added Mattison in 2019 and quickly won the RB2 title. In his Rookie year, Mattison wore 462 Hasten recruiting and one score on the ground. His role remained almost the same during the first four seasons. He was the backup of Cook, got a handful of a game, and when Cook was forced to sit out a game or two, he set up a number of monster numbers.
In his second and third year, he gathered 434 and 491 Hasten recruiting and scored a total of five times on the ground. He also showed some growth as a pass-catcher and became a reliable descendant option. In the first year under O’Connell, his fourth in the NFL, his songs fell. Cook remained healthy all year round and O’Connell threw the ball more. Mattison only received 283 hurrying, still the lowest of his career.

O’Connell’s lack of emphasis on the running game helped Mattison in 2023, but when he was a free agent and received a two-year-old deal from the Vikings to take over the RB1 tasks after the release of Cook. However, that experiment did not work. After 700 hurrying and a soft bank for Ty Chandler later in the year, the Vikings said goodbye to his two -year contract for a year.
Last year with the Raiders, Mattison hurried 420 yards and four touchdowns, which is almost what he did with the Vikings. He is still a reliable backup that runs back, but lacks the explosiveness for more.
Vikings Backfield

Since the release of Mattison, the Vikings have been used to ex-Packer Aaron Jones, who was fantastic in his first year with the club. He was so good that he received a brand new two -year contract. Jones will be 31 during the coming season, which is old for a running back, but he was still efficient last year.
To keep him fresh, the Vikings were exchanged for former 49 people back Jordan Mason. He played well last year when Christian McCaffrey needed some free time and should be a nice addition to Jones as a larger back.
Ty Chandler is still in the mix. It is still to be seen whether Zavier Scott or Tre Stewart can fire him for the RB3 performance.
Editors note: information from Pff” Over the capAnd Pro Football Reference helped with this article.

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