With AJ Dillon unlikely to return to Green Bay this summer, the Green Bay Packers have to find his replacement soon, and they may have a ready-made one in their division rivals, the Minnesota Vikings.
The Minnesota Vikings terminated the contract of Alexander Mattison on Monday to save $3.35 million in cap space while taking $1.25 million in dead money. Because of this, Jason Schandl from FanSided suggests that he should be immediately on the Green Bay Packers’ radar.
“Well, purposeful or not, the Vikings just did Green Bay a huge favor ahead of free agency. Running back promises to be a position of need this offseason with AJ Dillion set to become an unrestricted free agent, and the Vikes released a good one,” wrote Schandl.
“The Minnesota Vikings released running back Alexander Mattison on Monday, and he should immediately be on the Packers’ radar,” he added.
How Alexander Mattison could help the Green Bay Packers
After spending most of his early career as a backup behind Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison capitalized on his “great opportunity” in 2023, recording career-highs of 700 rushing yards in 16 regular-season games (13 starts).
However, he didn’t have a single rushing touchdown and only averaged 3.9 yards per carry, although it’s worth noting that 2.76 of those 3.9 yards per carry came after contact. He was ranked 34th out of 35 running backs with at least 150 carries in the previous season by the PFF, which gave him a dismal 61.8 grade. However, he didn’t receive much offensive support to garner better numbers.
With Mattison unlikely to return to Minnesota, Ty Chandler, who led the Minnesota Vikings’ backfield late in the 2023 season, is the favorite to take over the RB1 role next year.
If he joins the Green Bay Packers, Alexander Mattison’s stats should improve, and it’s also worth noting that the 25-year-old Boise State product doesn’t have too much wear and tear, which is a common concern for NFL running backs.
However, if the Green Bay Packers aren’t fond of Alexander Mattison, the Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots, and Philadelphia Eagles are some of the NFL teams that might be interested in his services.
Copyright © 2024
Leave a Reply