Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell Puts $77 Million Starter on Notice
After a breakout performance from second-year running back Ty Chandler, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell put starter Alexander Mattison‘s spot into question.
In his first career start, Chandler racked up 132 rushing yards on 23 carries in a 27-24 overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, December 16. He became the team’s first player to rush for 100 or more yards in a single game this season — a long time coming for a running game that ranks 23rd in yardage through 15 weeks.
Asked about Chandler’s role and if he would start even when Mattison returns from an ankle injury that held him out last week, O’Connell did not indicate that Mattison would retake the starting reigns, saying it will depend “scheme-wise” who they start going forward.
“There’s no question that I thought Ty had a huge role and impact on the game the other day. Ty is absolutely a guy that is going to continue to see a featured role in our offense. What that looks like moving forward, as far as who gets the first touch of the game and all those things, we’ll continue to kind of work through based upon what we’re attempting to do scheme-wise,” O’Connell said in a December 18 news conference.
“But there’s no question that you know we have confidence in Alex, but Ty’s done a lot of great things and we’ll continue to do so and hopefully he’ll be a huge reason why we’re able to have success offensively.”
A 2022 fifth-round pick, Chandler has been a promising project for the Vikings given his blazing 4.38-second 40-time and pass-catching ability.
Where Chandler has lagged during his development is in pass-blocking, a priority in O’Connell’s offense.
But on Saturday against the Bengals, Chandler put forth his best pass-blocking performance of the season, garnering an 84.5 pass-blocking grade by Pro Football Focus (PFF). His 10 snaps in pass protection were the most he’s seen in his career, and he kept quarterback Nick Mullens clean for every one of them.
That bodes well for Chandler who is continuing to make a case to see a lion’s share of the backfield work after Cam Akers went down with a season-ending Achilles tear in Week 9.
Chandler had played just 35 snaps before Akers went down, and he’s proving he should remain in the fold for the remainder of the 2023 season and an important piece next season.
The verdict was out that Mattison would be the Vikings’ starting running back for the 2023 season even before this summer.
In March, Minnesota signed Mattison to a two-year, $7 million deal that was almost fully guaranteed — a signal that Dalvin Cook was on his way out despite the team not cutting him until June.
Through the first 10 weeks of the season, Mattison averaged 3.55 yards per rushing attempt. In his following three starts, Mattison took 38 carries for 199 yards and a 5.24 average per run.
The questions at quarterback have contributed to O’Connell’s investment in the running game, which has improved in recent weeks with Mattison and Chandler.
But O’Connell’s commitment to running the ball with Chandler on Saturday, giving Chandler the most carries of any ball carrier in a game this season can’t be denied as a vote of confidence in Chandler moving forward.
