Vikings might have new trade partner for Alexander Mattison after Week 4

Following the season-ending injury to Javonte Williams, could the Denver Broncos be interested in trading for Minnesota Vikings running back Alexander Mattison?

Ever since George Paton left the Minnesota Vikings to become the general manager of the Denver Broncos in 2021, we’ve seen multiple players trade in their purple and gold jerseys to suit up in orange and blue. Could Vikings running back Alexander Mattison be the next to follow Paton to the Broncos after the injury to Denver’s Javonte Williams on Sunday?

On Monday, it was revealed that Williams suffered a torn ACL during the Broncos’ loss to the Las Vegas Raiders this past weekend, ending his 2022 season after just four games.

Williams was getting a significant amount of work in Denver’s backfield this year, so with him no longer available, could Paton give his old team a call in the near future to see if they would be interested in working out a deal for Mattison?

Should the Minnesota Vikings consider trading Alexander Mattison to the Denver Broncos?

When Minnesota decided to use a third-round pick to select Mattison in the 2019 NFL Draft, Paton was still a member of the Vikings’ front office as the team’s assistant general manager. So the Broncos‘ current general manager is fully aware of what the Minnesota running back is capable of.

Paton also knows that it likely wouldn’t cost Denver much to acquire Mattison in a trade. With Mattison being a clear No. 2 running back for his entire tenure with the Vikings, the Broncos could probably land him for a late-round 2023 draft pick.

In the final year of his contract, it wouldn’t be surprising if Minnesota attempted to trade Mattison before this season’s deadline. This way the Vikings could at least acquire some assets for the young running back instead of just getting nothing for him in 2023 if he decides to sign with another team in free agency.

Minnesota might be hesitant to move on from Mattison now that Dalvin Cook is a little banged up with his shoulder injury. But the Vikings should be able to make up for a Mattison departure with their other two backup running backs, Kene Nwangwu and rookie Ty Chandler.

So if Kwesi Adofo-Mensah gets a call from Paton during the next few days, should the Minnesota general manager be open to the possibility of trading Mattison to the Broncos?