It’s been a rough offseason for running backs. Ezekiel Elliott and Leonard Fournette were released. And there have been various reports that Dalvin Cook, Joe Mixon and Derrick Henry will be asked to take pay cuts.
Kareem Hunt isn’t generating any interest. Austin Ekeler wants a new contract, and the Chargers told him that won’t be happening. And guys like Rashaad Penny and Damien Harris signed deals for not much more than the league minimum. It’s been pretty brutal.
In the specific case of Dalvin Cook, I will be interested to see how it plays out. On the one hand, he’s seemingly not worth what he’s scheduled to be paid. He’s got a base salary of $10.4 million, with a cap number of $14.1 million. But at the same time, the Vikings signed Alexander Mattison to a two-year deal worth $7 million, with over 90 percent of that money guaranteed.
The Mattison contract indicates that they believe he’s ready to be a starter, but I’m skeptical. I haven’t seen him do anything that suggests he’s anything more than an average backup.
Mattison has gotten to step into those starter shoes five times (all in the 2020-21 seasons). While he averaged 90 rushing and 42 receiving yards in those games, which are impressive enough numbers, three of those games came against really suspect Detroit defenses. For the bulk of his career, he’s looked like a run-of-the-mill backup. He’s no Cook.
In each of the last three years, Mattison has averaged over a half yard less per carry than Cook. He’s just not that kind of player. (Heading into this offseason, I was thinking the Vikings would let Mattison walk, promoting youngster Ty Chandler into the backup spot.)
Over the last two years, 46 running backs have carried the ball at least 200 yards. Of that group, Mattison ranks next-to-last in yards per carry, down at 3.7 per attempt. If the Vikings wind up elevating him into their starting job, I think they’ll regret it.
| RUSHING, YARDS PER CARRY (last 2 years) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| Tony Pollard, Dall. | 323 | 1,726 | 5.34 | 11 |
| Nick Chubb, Cle. | 530 | 2,784 | 5.25 | 20 |
| Travis Etienne, Jac. | 220 | 1,125 | 5.11 | 5 |
| Miles Sanders, Phil. | 396 | 2,023 | 5.11 | 11 |
| Jonathan Taylor, Ind. | 524 | 2,672 | 5.10 | 22 |
| Khalil Herbert, Chi. | 232 | 1,164 | 5.02 | 6 |
| Aaron Jones, G.B. | 384 | 1,920 | 5.00 | 6 |
| Tyler Allgeier, Atl. | 210 | 1,035 | 4.93 | 3 |
| Elijah Mitchell, S.F. | 252 | 1,242 | 4.93 | 7 |
| Rhamondre Stevenson, N.E. | 343 | 1,646 | 4.80 | 10 |
| D'Andre Swift, Det. | 250 | 1,159 | 4.64 | 10 |
| Devin Singletary, Buff. | 365 | 1,689 | 4.63 | 12 |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car.-S.F. | 343 | 1,581 | 4.61 | 9 |
| Kenneth Walker, Sea. | 228 | 1,050 | 4.61 | 9 |
| Dalvin Cook, Min. | 513 | 2,332 | 4.55 | 14 |
| Josh Jacobs, L.V. | 557 | 2,525 | 4.53 | 21 |
| Jeff Wilson, S.F.-Mia. | 255 | 1,154 | 4.53 | 7 |
| Damien Harris, N.E. | 308 | 1,391 | 4.52 | 18 |
| Austin Ekeler, LAC | 410 | 1,826 | 4.45 | 25 |
| Darrell Henderson, LAR | 219 | 971 | 4.43 | 8 |
| Javonte Williams, Den. | 250 | 1,107 | 4.43 | 4 |
| Cordarrelle Patterson, Atl. | 297 | 1,313 | 4.42 | 14 |
| D'Onta Foreman, Car. | 336 | 1,480 | 4.40 | 8 |
| Derrick Henry, Ten. | 568 | 2,475 | 4.36 | 23 |
| James Robinson, Jac.-NYJ | 274 | 1,192 | 4.35 | 11 |
| Latavius Murray, Bal.-N.O.-Den. | 290 | 1,261 | 4.35 | 12 |
| Dameon Pierce, Hou. | 220 | 939 | 4.27 | 4 |
| Kareem Hunt, Cle. | 201 | 854 | 4.25 | 8 |
| Melvin Gordon, Den. | 293 | 1,236 | 4.22 | 10 |
| AJ Dillon, G.B. | 373 | 1,573 | 4.22 | 12 |
| Saquon Barkley, NYG | 457 | 1,905 | 4.17 | 12 |
| Chuba Hubbard, Car. | 267 | 1,078 | 4.04 | 7 |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 502 | 2,019 | 4.02 | 20 |
| Jamaal Williams, Det. | 415 | 1,667 | 4.02 | 20 |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 468 | 1,878 | 4.01 | 22 |
| Leonard Fournette, T.B. | 369 | 1,480 | 4.01 | 11 |
| Michael Carter, NYJ | 261 | 1,041 | 3.99 | 7 |
| James Conner, Ari. | 385 | 1,534 | 3.98 | 22 |
| Sony Michel, both LAs | 244 | 951 | 3.90 | 4 |
| Antonio Gibson, Was. | 407 | 1,583 | 3.89 | 10 |
| Brian Robinson, Was. | 205 | 797 | 3.89 | 2 |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 463 | 1,795 | 3.88 | 6 |
| David Montgomery, Chi. | 426 | 1,650 | 3.87 | 12 |
| Najee Harris, Pitt. | 579 | 2,234 | 3.86 | 14 |
| Alexander Mattison, Min. | 208 | 774 | 3.72 | 8 |
| Mark Ingram, Hou.-N.O. | 222 | 787 | 3.55 | 3 |
—Ian Allan