What can Alexander Mattison bring to Las Vegas?

Getting to know the Raiders’ new running back via a Vikings writer

The Las Vegas Raiders are shifting to a running back by committee approach next season, and free agent signing Alexander Mattison projects to be a key piece of the Raiders’ backfield in 2024. So, Silver and Black Pride reached out to our friends at the Daily Norseman and Christopher Gates was kind enough to answer five questions about the former Minnesota Viking.

Question: How would you describe Mattison’s running style?

Answer: Mattison is more of a between-the-tackles sort of runner, but he has difficulty creating the yardage on his own. If the hole is there he can hit it for a decent gain, but if there isn’t anything there he doesn’t have a lot of ability to cut things back and make things happen. He’s a guy that can eat up some carries and he’ll have some flashes with decent gains, but more often than not you’ll see him get stopped for fewer yards than a lot of backs might be able to create in a similar situation.

Q: After letting Dalvin Cook go last offseason, it seemed like the Vikings were ready to make Mattison the feature back moving forward but, obviously, that didn’t happen. Why did he start losing touches toward the end of the year?

A: I think that Kevin O’Connell did want Mattison to be the lead back, and that’s the position he spent most of the season in. However, as things wore on it became clear that he couldn’t bring the sort of spark to the run game that the Vikings were looking for. Mattison has never really been an explosive runner like Cook was in his prime, and Ty Chandler showed flashes of that towards the end of the season, so he slowly started to take over the lead role for the Vikings in the backfield while Mattison was moved more into the background.

Q: There’s been a bit of a debate among Raiders fans about how good Mattison is at executing zone rushing schemes. What’s your take on his skillset in that regard?

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images

A: I think that Mattison could do okay in a zone scheme, but he would have to focus more on the inside zone type of stuff as opposed to outside zone. While Mattison does have some ability to make guys miss, he doesn’t quite have the speed to be most effective in an outside zone sort of setup. He’s much better between the tackles and the Raiders would be well-served to use him in that capacity rather than trying to force him into being an outside zone runner.

Q: How much of a factor can Mattison be in the passing game? It seems like he had some drop issues and struggled in pass protection last season.

A: Mattison has had some issues with drops, but he’s been a solid contributor in the passing game when called upon. All three of his touchdowns last season came via receptions (he didn’t have a rushing touchdown in 2023), but it hasn’t been something that he’s been asked to do a whole lot. Given the other receiving options that the Vikings have had during his time in Minnesota and that Cook was the primary guy in that regard for 80% of the time he was with the Vikings, it’s not surprising that he didn’t get as many chances as you might like. I think it’s something that he’s capable of doing well given the opportunity, however.

Q: Of the field, what is Mattison like? How is he as a leader?

A: I don’t think you’ll find anyone with anything bad to say about Mattison off the field. He was particularly visible during the summer of 2020 in the Twin Cities when the Vikings were taking the lead in community outreach efforts and things of that nature. From all accounts, he’s a solid guy off the field and the sort of person that you want to have on your roster when it comes to community stuff and charitable endeavors. The Raiders got themselves a pretty good guy in that regard.