The Vikings will be placing WR Justin Jefferson on IR for the hamstring injury that knocked him out of Sunday's loss to the Chiefs. That means he'll miss at least the next four games. Jefferson's absence will obviously leave a bunch of targets for his Vikings teammates. Jefferson drew 47 through the first four games, 30% of QB Kirk Cousins' total attempts over that span. That makes rookie WR Jordan Addison a weekly starting candidate over the next month. He drew a season-high 9 targets in the K.C. game, reaching 6 receptions for the second time in three weeks. It also makes WR K.J. Osborn worth picking up in many leagues. But there's also a chance Jefferson's absence shifts the offensive approach. Minnesota leads the league in pass attempts through five weeks, sits tied for the lead in pass rate, and ranks third in pass rate over expected. Losing Jefferson figures to hurt the offense overall and could push a little more work to the running game. We're certainly not upgrading RB Alexander Mattison for this, but we'll be watching the offense's reaction over the next couple of weeks. Cousins clearly loses upside with the absence of arguably the league's best WR. Fortunately for him -- and fantasy managers -- the Vikings visit a bad Bears defense in the first game without Jefferson. That will help everyone's fantasy outlooks. An ominous Monday night date with the 49ers waits on the other side of that, however.
RB Cam Akers carried five times for 40 yards in Sunday's win over the Panthers, his first action with the Vikings. He added 2 receptions for 11 yards on 2 targets, one of just three Minnesota players who caught more than one pass in the game. Akers looks like the handcuff to RB Alexander Mattison but probably won't turn into a standalone fantasy play without a Mattison injury. Mattison rushed 17 times for 95 yards against Carolina and caught his only target for 3 yards.
The Vikings will go with the hot hand at RB vs. the Panthers today, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. RB Alexander Mattison "is still the starter," per Pelissero, but we could see "a lot of" RB Cam Akers. Mattison has been inefficient and mistake-prone through three games, so there's an opening for Akers. Mattison remains the preferred fantasy play today, but his floor is much lower than it's been the first three weeks.
The Vikings made RB Cam Akers inactive for his first game with the team. So RB Alexander Mattison continued to dominate backfield usage. He took 20 carries for 93 yards and added a 5-32 receiving line on 7 targets. Mattison benefited from facing a weak Chargers D and from Minnesota running 83 offensive plays. But we'll have to assume he retains the clear backfield lead until/unless something changes. Week 4 holds a high-upside matchup with a Panthers D that has been run over so far this season.
Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell said RB Cam Akers "more than likely" won't play vs. the Chargers on Sunday. O'Connell does expect Akers to be ready for Week 4. But RB Alexander Mattison will get at least one more game as Minnesota's feature back.
On Wednesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Rams are trading RB Cam Akers to the Vikings in exchange for a swap of 2026 NFL Draft picks. Akers was a surprise inactive on Sunday vs. the 49ers, and HC Sean McVay reiterated to the media on Monday that the team was trying to deal away the former second-round pick. This news brings the "will they, won't they" saga dating back to the 2022 season to a close and also muddies the outlook for incumbent Vikings RB Alexander Mattison. Fantasy managers who roster Mattison will now have to worry about Akers, who has connections to HC Kevin O'Connell and OC Wes Phillips dating back to their days in Los Angeles, coming in and taking away some work. This could be merely a depth move, though Mattison has not been particularly effective this season, averaging just 31.0 rushing yards per game. Stay tuned for more updates regarding the fantasy fallout of this trade.
Vikings RB Alexander Mattison mustered just 28 scoreless yards on eight carries (3.5 YPC) in Thursday night’s loss to the Eagles. He turned six targets into three catches and 11 yards. Mattison has now totaled 83 yards on 25 touches through two games this season — an ugly 3.3 yards per touch. He hasn’t gotten much help from his offensive line but also hasn’t made much happen on his own. Mattison continued to dominate the backfield work vs. Philadelphia, with RB Ty Chandler getting just one carry and two targets. But we could see Chandler’s role grow if Mattison doesn’t start producing more. Mattison's RB2 status is on very shaky ground.
Vikings RB Alexander Mattison out-carried Ty Chandler 11-3 in Sunday’s loss to Tampa Bay. Mattison didn’t find much room to run, but he salvaged his day with an excellent individual effort on a goal-line receiving TD. Mattison also ran 22 routes to only 7 for Chandler, so there’s no concern over the passing-game role. Week 2 brings a tough matchup with Philly, but Mattison will remain an RB2. Keep Chandler stashed as a high-value handcuff.
Vikings RB Kene Nwangwu has been placed on IR. That knocks him out for at least the first four games of the season. Minnesota signed RB Myles Gaskin, who figures to serve as the No. 3 RB behind Alexander Mattison and Ty Chandler.
The Vikings released RB DeWayne McBride. A favorite of some in the analytics community, McBride sunk to the seventh round of this spring's draft and didn't make any noise in August. He's miles away from fantasy relevance at the moment. Ty Chandler will open the season as Minnesota's No. 2 RB behind Alexander Mattison.
"Do not underestimate the Vikings’ commitment to [RB Alexander] Mattison," The Athletic's Alec Lewis writes. "The team believes in him and it believes he is a key cog in their attempt at improved rushing efficiency. Mattison might not provide the explosive element that [RB Dalvin] Cook possesses, but the Vikings are committed to providing him an every-down workload." Mattison isn't the most exciting talent, but everything we've heard from Minnesota since Cook's departure is that Mattison is in for big volume this year. He's a solid pick in the fifth or sixth round of fantasy drafts.
Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell highlighted RB Ty Chandler as a standout in Thursday night's preseason opener vs. the Seahawks. "I thought Ty Chandler jumped out, because any time he had the ball in his hand, very rarely was he tackled by the first defender," O'Connell said. Chandler finished with 11 carries for 41 yards and caught all four of his targets for 29 yards. He got three-down usage with the starters -- which did not include QB Kirk Cousins, RB Alexander Mattison, WR Justin Jefferson, or TE T.J. Hockenson. RB Kene Nwangu was also held out with an injury, while RB DeWayne McBride only spelled Chandler on occasion in the first half. It was a strong showing from Chandler and has him looking like the favorite to open the season as Minnesota's No. 2 RB behind Mattison.
Plenty of opportunities are available in the Vikings' backfield following the offseason release of long-time starter RB Dalvin Cook. Alexander Mattison figures to be the new lead back in Minnesota, but the competition remains open for the RB2 spot behind him. According to The Athletic's Alec Lewis, neither Kene Nwangwu nor Ty Chandler seem to be winning the battle. Lewis highlights "questions about their abilities in pass protection" as big red flags and adds that "it would not surprise [him] to see the Vikings take a shot on a veteran who has experience with a considerable early-down workload," given the large number of available backs on the open free agent market. This report provides far more questions than it answers. It helps to reaffirm that Mattison is secure in his role, but that's about it. Any sort of deeper read into this situation would be mere speculation, though we'll be sure to keep our ears to the ground should any information linking a veteran back to the Vikings arise.
None of the Vikings' backup RBs have stepped up in camp so far, according to The Athletic's Alec Lewis. RB Ty Chandler has "lacked consistency," RB DeWayne McBride "faces a tall task in trying to learn the offense in short order," and RB Kene Nwangwu is unlikely to "shoulder a massive load," Lewis writes. It continues to look like RB Alexander Mattison will handle a high percentage of Minnesota's backfield touches this season. We'll see if one of these other guys gets rolling -- or if the Vikings add a veteran to the backfield.
Vikings OC Wes Phillips highlighted RB Alexander Mattison's versatility on Thursday. "[It's] the consistency of who he is every day, what he's put on tape every opportunity he's gotten: his multifaceted run game, pass protection and then his hands in the pass game — his route-running ability," Phillips said. "I think we're going to see a lot of good things, and maybe people didn't realize how good a player Alex Mattison really is." HC Kevin O'Connell made similar comments back in May, calling Mattison a three-down back. All signs continue to point toward Mattison getting a heavy workload in a strong Minnesota offense. See where he sits in the updated RB rankings.
ESPN's Kevin Seifert writes that "all evidence suggests" that the Vikings will use RB Alexander Mattison "in the same every-down role that [Dalvin] Cook performed last season in coach Kevin O'Connell's offense." Cook played 72% of Minnesota's offensive snaps last year, averaging 15.5 carries and 3.3 targets per game. He ranked 12th among RBs in expected PPR points per game and 14th in actual PPR points per game. Mattison will return a nice profit for fantasy teams if he approximates that role. Seifert also believes that RB Ty Chandler is the favorite for the #2 job, ahead of RBs Kene Nwangwu and DeWayne McBride.
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