Can Mattison improve upon a solid rookie year?
The Vikings have plenty of depth at running back, but the team’s other positions on offense do not have that same luxury.
If Cook gets injured, it becomes a question of which running back to choose, but if that same thing happened to Adam Thielen or Kirk Cousins, the offense would be considerably worse.
Not to say Cook is bad, just that Boone and Mattison are very good replacements.
Mattison is coming off a promising rookie season, but there’s no telling what will happen in 2020. The team has a new offensive coordinator in Gary Kubiak, and most people don’t expect the offense to change much, but you never know.
There’s also the offensive line. I’m not sure the position group got much better this offseason, unless draftee Ezra Cleveland can come in and play right away. What if Mattison struggles to get anything going in limited time behind Cook?
If anything bad happens to other parts of the Minnesota offense, the Vikings will need the running back position to be a beacon of consistency. Hopefully, Mattison can ward off any signs of a sophomore slump, and thrive for the team. Minnesota likely needs him to, regardless of Cook’s health.