Contract Terms
The Las Vegas Raiders signed unrestricted free agent running back Alexander Mattison, the club announced Monday. Terms of the contract have not been announced or reported.
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Fantasy Football Impact
Mattison will complement Zamir White in the backfield in Las Vegas after starter Josh Jacobs signed with the Green Bay Packers in free agency.
As ESPN.com reminded readers, Mattison, 25, was abruptly released by the Vikings on Mar. 4 after he failed to hold down the starting running back job following the departure of longtime lead back Dalvin Cook. The 2019 third-round pick spent four seasons as Cook's backup before signing a two-year contract worth up to $7 million last March. The Vikings released Cook and elevated Mattison, hoping he could provide strong inside running even if he couldn't match Cook's explosiveness.
He came up short.
Mattison started 13 games but managed only 700 yards on the ground without any rushing touchdowns. Of his 180 attempts, none was for more than 21 yards. He did catch three touchdown passes.
According to Associated Press sports writer Josh Dubow, Mattison is the second player in the last 20 seasons with 180-plus carries and zero rushing TDs in a season (Melvin Gordon is the other, failing to score on 184 carries in 2015). Mattison is also the only player in the NFL with 50-plus carries and less than 4 yards per carry in each of the last three seasons.
The good news? He did have a season-high 6.6 yards per carry against the Raiders (66 yards on 10 carries) last year.
Mattison's shortcomings prompted the Vikings to acquire veteran Cam Akers from the Los Angeles Rams after two games. Coaches increased Akers' workload until he suffered a torn Achilles tendon on Nov. 5. Ultimately, second-year running back Ty Chandler replaced Mattison in the starting lineup for the final four games of the regular season.
In his five seasons with the Vikings, Mattison averaged 4.1 yards per carry while rushing for 2,370 yards on 584 attempts, with 11 touchdowns. He also caught 100 passes for 718 yards and another six scores.
Positives?
Tashan Reed of The Athletic pointed out that Mattison has only played for offensive play callers from the Mike Shanahan coaching tree: Kevin Stefanski in 2019, Gary Kubiak in 2020, Klint Kubiak in 2021, and Kevin O'Connell in 2022 and 2023. That continues with incoming Raiders coordinator Luke Getsy in 2024.
That's unlikely to make Mattison fantasy relevant.
While there might be an argument for viewing him as an insurance policy for White, Mattison is more likely to be a player to watch on the waiver wire than a draft-worthy prospect. He's going well outside the 20th round on BestBall 10s and Underdog.
The Fantasy Football Fallout
The Raiders lost running back Josh Jacobs to the Green Bay Packers in free agency. SI.com's Hondo Carter wrote, "That was fine because the Silver and Black have emerging star White in the fold."
Jacobs led the league in rushing in 2022, White's rookie season, with the veteran accounting for nearly 80 percent of the team's carries. SI.com's Ezekiel Trezevant IV, Jacobs was on pace for a similar percentage last season before sustaining a quad injury.
Jacobs' injury allowed White to demonstrate that he could be a starting back. With Jacobs sidelined, White averaged roughly five yards per carry. White rushed for over 100 yards in two of his first four starts, becoming the first running back in Raiders history to do so.
Mattison will do nothing to threaten White's workload. Ameer Abdullah, the team's primary receiving back, is a more likely limiting factor than the newcomer.
White's RB34 spot on our initial 2024 Footballguys Draft Rankings aligns with his RB31 and RB32 Average Draft Positions (ADPs) on BestBall 10s and Underdog, respectively. This move is likely to push him up closer to RB2 territory.
This signing shouldn't have a major impact on the valuations of passing-game assets like Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers, whether they're working with newly signed quarterback Gardner Minshew or a yet-to-be-determined rookie.
Stock Watch
Risers
Fallers
Overview
On Monday, the Las Vegas Raiders announced that former Vikings running back Alexander Mattison agreed to a contract with the team. With Josh Jacobs moving on to Green Bay as an unrestricted free agent, Zamir White is set to play the lead role in the Raiders' offense, now coordinated by Luke Getsy. The former Bears OC claims he won't necessarily field a run-first offense, but history suggests otherwise. That being the case, expect White to be very busy while Mattison and Ameer Abdullah provide depth and possible change-of-pace options.
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