Every year, there are players that are key to the success of an NFL team that go unnoticed. Unsung heroes don’t get the national recognition they deserve for their contributions. Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar named one underrated player from each team. For the Minnesota Vikings, that player is Alexander Mattision.
Mattison has gotten a bit more fanfare this off-season than most that made the list heading into the 2023 season. The selection was based on his workload, or lack thereof, going into his fifth season in the league. Mattison has only 404 career carries heading into this season, where he will turn 25 before the season starts. With the release of Cook last week, keeping Mattison fresh may have been the best way to go.
Farrar states that while Mattison is not the explosive runner that Dalvin has been, Mattison “is absolutely the kind of hammerhead back you can go with in critical situations.”
There are a lot of questions surrounding this offense. Will Justin Jefferson keep up this superior level of play? How far can Kirk Cousins take this team? Can Jordan Addison immediately contribute to the passing game? What can we really expect for seventh-round pick DeWayne McBride to become?
With all these questions circling, it is nice to have just one semblance of consistency. That will come from Alexander Mattison. The peace of mind that will come with that fact is underrated indeed.