A few thoughts about Mattison. First, 4.1 YPC is not bad at all. There is a pretty long list of RB's whose career average is less than that, some of which are in the HOF. I'd be more concerned with the trajectory of that YPC number, which has basically decreased annually since he entered the league. That said, I've always felt that Mattison was a stronger complimentary back than he was a #1 option. Whether it be Chandler or someone else, I sincerely hope they mix somebody else in significantly. In other words, if Mattison gets 70-80% of the team's RB touches (which I think is highly unlikely) , I think he'll be less effective than if they keep him fresh. I don't have numbers to prove that. It's just based on having watched every Vikings game for the past 30 years, including every touch he's had with the team. He's better when used as a 1-2 punch (doesn't matter if he's 1 or 2), rather than trying to run him into the ground. That won't go well.
Except 4.1 is the career number. He was 3.8 last year, 3.7 the year before. On the same team that Dalvin was 4.4 and 4.7. And they let him go. Mattison's longest carry was 15 yards. Even leadfoot Kirk Cousins had one longer. The comp of Dameon Pierce at 4.2 is even more irrelevant. His team was terrible, all his backups were under 3. I don't understand what MIN is doing handing the backfield over to Mattison. And I would not be at all surprised if someone else leads the team year end. In fact I expect it.
Right. And 4.1 isn't a bad career number. Better than Curtis Martin, Thurman Thomas, John Riggins, and others. If the argument is that it's concerning that his average in his first two years (2019 and '20) were closer to 4.5, while the latter two years are sub-4.0, I'll buy that THAT might be a bit of a concern. And, like you said, the 15 yard long rush isn't much. He did have longer rushes in the previous seasons (I believe his career long is like 48). So, is he getting worse? Or is it just the relatively small sample size? I don't know the answer to that.
I do know that the eye test tells me that he's a poor man's Cook. Cook was faster and more explosive, with better pass-catching ability. Of course, Cook also got dinged up a lot. Mattison likely will too if they use him more than what I hope (which is 50-60%). We'll see. I like Chandler as a COP back, potentially. But I'll agree that going from Cook/Mattison to Mattison/Chandler is a downgrade. How much of one, not sure.
All of that said, he'll be serviceable, and their RB group is the least of their problems. I don't see anybody else leading the team in overall rushing numbers unless it's due to injury.
