4 Minnesota Vikings who are in jeopardy of becoming busts

Alexander Mattison – RB

Alexander Mattison was expected to have a much bigger role in 2020 than he did his rookie season. During that first year, he would only see a handful of carries a game and while he often looked good in those scant number of attempts, he just didn’t get enough run to make an impact. He also got hurt late in the season and missed the final three games.

Everyone knew that going into the 2020 season the Vikings were going to run the ball and run it hard under Gary Kubiak. With Dalvin Cook‘s injury history it was figured the team would give a few more of his touches to Mattison to ensure Cook stays fresh throughout the game and avoid getting injured. This just hasn’t happened.

The Vikings ride Cook every game and he gets 90 percent of the carries. Mattison will get one here or there, but that’s it unless the game is out of hand or Cook is temporarily sidelined with an injury. While Mattison has proven to be a quality back, the offense clearly takes a step back when he’s the one toting the rock. Mattison did have a big game against the Seahawks when Cook went, out but if he just would have made a cut right and followed his block, the Vikings would be 7-5 right now and in much better playoff shape.

A couple of other things that make Mattison’s almost two years in the league disappointing are his lack of touchdowns and inability to stay healthy. Mattison has just two scores in his career and like stated above, missed three games last year and while he can’t be blamed for an emergency appendectomy, he has missed time this year as well.

Mattison isn’t a bust yet, but if his lack of touches and inability to find the endzone continue, and he misses more games, he may start hearing that word associated with his name at some point next season.