Alexander Mattison has joined the stampede of running backs who feel undervalued and underpaid.
Mattison inked a new two-year, $7million deal with Minnesota in March, but his former stable mate Dalvin Cook remains without a team following his release last month.
Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard face seasons playing under the franchise tag, and Mattison has echoed the likes of Panthers back Miles Sanders in speaking out.
‘I’m not sure that years in the past we can wholeheartedly say that the running back position is undervalued. But this offseason put a stamp on the running back position being undervalued,’ Mattison told Mail Sport.
‘And I think it’s unfair. We deserve a lot more respect about what we bring to the game. I mean, take a running back out and let’s see how everyone does, you know!
‘When I was coming out of college, I think the life of a running back was like three and a half years. It’s even less now – like two and a half years. Which is ridiculous. Just in the four years I’ve been in the league already the average has gone down.
Alexander Mattison is set for a starting role in Minnesota with the departure of Dalvin Cook
Mattison has averaged 4.1 yards per carry in his four seasons since entering the league
Mattison (left) and teammate Mekhi Blackmon pose with a Vikings fan in England
‘I guess from a business standpoint, that might be a reason where they see you like: ‘We can just replace you in two years. We’re not going to pay you.’
‘You see guys like Miles Sanders in my class, Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley, Dalvin Cook… you have these backs that have been in the league for four- or five-plus years, and are still producing All-Pro, Pro Bowl numbers and it doesn’t make sense that we’re so undervalued and underpaid.
‘But we can only continue to just work hard and prove ourselves and prove to the world how much value we do hold.
‘I don’t know how much more we can continue to prove but you got to take what you get in this league and the business side of things. And at this point we just have to continue to just try and speak out and put it on notice because it is unfair.’
Mattison was a third-round pick in 2019, entering the NFL out of Boise State, where he didn’t miss a game. Now entering his fifth season, he averages 4.1 yards a carry and is set for a larger workload in the absence of Cook.
Asked to illustrate his running style, the 25-year-old said: ‘Downhill, fast and physical. Those are three key components of my game that I learned from my college coach Lee Marks – he told me downhill, fast and physical with violent knee drive. And I’ve held on to that. I think that’s kind of the best way I can describe how I run because I think of that every single time.’
Mattison, who lives in Minnesota with his young family, leads a youthful running back room which features Kene Nwangwu, Ty Chandler, seventh round draft pick DeWayne McBride and fullback CJ Ham.
‘I think there’s space for them to maybe add another back, but I’m fully confident in the group that we have. I love every single one of them – we take our relationship further than just on the field and in the locker room but outside of that because we understand how important it is to have that relationship and understand how important it is to build that family aspect.
‘That’s what made us so good as a running back room when Dalvin was here, too. We didn’t just lose a team-mate. We lost a brother, you know, and so it’s bittersweet, you know, it’s going to be a good deal for him. It’s a great opportunity for me, and I think just in that running back room, we have a lot of weapons and a lot of great, great guys that are going to impact this team.’
Last season was a memorable one in Minnesota, with the Vikings posting an incredulous 11-0 record in one-score games on their way to 13-4.
‘We probably gave someone a real heart attack, sitting at home watching because for us it was goosebumps, adrenaline pumping. It was crazy,’ Mattison said.
‘But you see how we prepare, how we stick together. The tight knit group that we have in the locker room – it’s one of the reasons why we were able to pull off all of those wins,’ he said at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the site one of those ridiculous wins last year, beating the New Orleans Saints 28-25.
‘I mean, even here, you know the way that we got here. It’s just always a nail-biter, but we believe in ourselves and even we’re down 33(like they were against the Indianapolis Colts). You know, me and Dalvin looked at each other and said: ‘You know, the crazy part is we’re gonna win this game’. And we did.’
Mattison put much of the belief and success down to the positivity of head coach Kevin O’Connell, who transformed the organization in his first year, lifting the dark cloud which loomed at the end of the Mike Zimmer era.
Becton (left) and Mattison are seen at Wimbledon, where they watched Novak Djokovic
The pair also visited Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium as the team gears up for the 2023-24 season
Mattison celebrates after the Vikings beat the Bears 29-13 on January 8 last season
‘I think I think he should get a lot more credit. Definitely it’s the guys on the field that are in the position to make the difference, but it really stemming from him as a head coach, just the right words, the right leadership, the right energy.
‘It comes from him and he had that. Every game he had that. There were games where it just didn’t go our way. There were games that we didn’t walk out with the W but through that all he was such a great leader and is to this day such a great leader that I think it makes a huge difference.’
Yet the Vikings season was ended by a punishing wild card defeat by the New York Giants. While they kept defying the odds offensively, the defense proved the Achilles heel.
Ranked 27th in DVOA, 28th in points allowed and 31st in yards allowed, their sieve-like secondary was routinely exposed. But with the sacking of ex-defensive coordinator Ed Donatell in February came the hiring of former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores.
After attending OTAs, Mattison has played against the unit first hand.
‘It’s scary,’ he said. ‘Scary for other teams and it’s going to help us a lot on offense. It’s gonna make it easier when we go into a game. And there’s a team that just plays defense. They play another game of defense and I’m excited to see on Sundays. I’m excited to see that defense unleashed.’
Mattison, a fluent Spanish speaker, and Vikings team-mate Mekhi Blackmon enjoyed a summer trip across the pond, attending some highlights from the English sporting calendar. The Vikings visited the British Grand Prix as guests of the Williams team and watched Novak Djokovic seal his place in the semi-finals at Wimbledon.
‘The whole trip has been a highlight,’ Mattison said. ‘Being at Wimbledon, it’s iconic in itself. But I think I’m a new fan of Formula One! I think that event was probably my biggest highlight. It was amazing, talking to some of the racers learning about it. It’s wild. I love it.’
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