With many great players still on the board, the Minnesota Vikings made the decision to select Alexander Mattison in Round 3 of the 2019 NFL Draft.
The Minnesota Vikings have found some great talent in the third round of the NFL Draft and that trend continued with the selection the team made in Round 3 of the 2019 NFL Draft.
On April 26, 2019, Minnesota followed up the selection of center Garrett Bradbury in the first round and tight end Irv Smith in the second round by selecting Boise State running back Alexander Mattison in Round 3 of the draft at pick number 9 overall after trading down FOUR times.
Here is the announcement of the pick as shared on the official Twitter account of the Minnesota Vikings:
With the 102nd overall pick, the #Vikings select RB @AlexMattison22!https://t.co/jeiYwcsmqa pic.twitter.com/hzMVn1kOkj
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) April 27, 2019
The pick was announced by former Vikings tight ends Steve Jordan, who is one of the 50 Greatest Vikings and new Minnesota draftee Alexander Mattison might follow in his footsteps to be an impactful player for the Vikings.
In three years at Boise State, Mattison 38 games where he gained a total of 2,829 yards on 581 carries and ran in 33 touchdowns to go with 60 catches for 511 yards and one more score through the air.
Mattison should immediately take over the role left by the exiting Latavius Murray and should excel in short yardage situations as well as passing plays thanks to his solid work blocking for the quarterback.
It is debatable as to whether or not the third round was too soon to select Mattison, which is why it makes sense that the team traded down four times to acquire more draft picks before selecting him with the final pick in the third round.
With Minnesota using their first three picks on the offense, it’s apparent what the team’s priority was coming into this draft. Plus, there still could be a wide receiver or another offensive lineman taken during the third day of the draft.
Congratulations to Alexander Mattison on joining the Minnesota Vikings by being selected with the team’s third-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Hopefully, he can make an impact right away and help this team reach the playoffs once again!