New running back had historically poor success near end zone
The Las Vegas Raiders signed veteran Alexander Mattison in free agency this offseason to provide key carries as a top backup for new starter Zamir White as the team begins the post-Josh Jacobs era.
Mattison was a key player for the Minnesota Vikings last season. He had a career high 700 yards, but Mattison didn’t score any touchdowns on 180 carries. He struggled badly near the goal line as these tweet by NFL analyst Warren Sharp illustrates:
every Alexander Mattison run inside the 5 yard line:
9 rushes, -7 yards, 0 TDs https://t.co/bYp9ncyt25 pic.twitter.com/UjIzlYOuPG
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 9, 2024
Also, his 2023 issues weren’t just by the goal-line.
forget the goal line
ANY Mattison run with less than 5 yards to go for a 1st down…
out of 56 RBs with at least 15 att (Mattison had 31 att):
#56 of 56 in EPA/att (-0.30)
#54 of 56 in 1st down rate (42%)
#52 of 56 in success rate (48%) https://t.co/TO5kNYfova— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 10, 2024
Those are some scary bad numbers. But it’s not like Mattison doesn’t know how to get into the end zone. He had a combined 11 touchdowns in his first four NFL seasons including a career high five touchdowns in 2022.
So, maybe he will regain his TD mojo with the Raiders.
In other Raiders news:
- Top D-linemen: Where does Christian Wilkins rank among the best in the league?
- Pod time: The Athletic has a Raiders’ podcast.
- Linebacker talk: The Raiders’ website has a profile on linebacker Robert Spillane.