Coach Kevin O'Connell told reporters Friday that he still views Mattison as the Vikings' lead back after a recent trade for Cam Akers, who is unlikely to play this Sunday against the Chargers, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

O'Connell went as far as saying nothing has changed for Mattison despite his rough start to the season and now the addition of a 2020 second-round pick to Minnesota's backfield. In reality, Mattison is on the hot seat, though Akers won't necessarily provide the stiffest competition given his inconsistent tenure in Los Angeles. Akers finished his rookie year strong and had a nice four-week stretch to close out last season, but it's otherwise been a series of demotions and subpar performances ever since he tore his Achilles in the summer of 2021. O'Connell said Akers won't be ready to play for his new team this Sunday, giving Mattison at least one more game with only Ty Chandler taking away any backfield snaps.

The Vikings have not lost confidence in Mattison despite Wednesday's trade for Cam Akers, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips told reporters Thursday. "Unfortunately we've had a couple turnovers in the run game where we obviously need to clean that up. Everyone's aware of that. But we still feel very strongly in Alex and [backup Ty Chandler] and those guys being able to go in and produce," Phillips told ESPN.

EDGE Analysis

Mattison has had a slow start to the season with a lost fumble in Week 2 and just 62 yards rushing on 19 carries for a paltry 3.3 YPC. Akers may not play much this week against the Chargers as he gets up to speed on the offense, but could quickly move past Ty Chandler for the backup role. Given Mattison's struggles, it's not hard to envision Akers moving into a time share with Mattison. However, Akers still has much to prove after his own underwhelming performance this season (29 yards rushing on 22 attempts in Week 1).

Mattison rushed eight times for 28 yards and brought in three of six targets for 11 yards in the Vikings' 34-28 loss to the Eagles on Thursday night. He also lost a fumble.

EDGE Analysis

Mattison had what had to be considered a second straight disappointing performance to open the season, finding running room at a premium for the most part and then also seeing his overall opportunities limited by game script. The fifth-year pro was also fortunate his first-quarter fumble didn't lead to any points, as the Eagles' Justin Evans recovered at the Vikings' 39-yard line. Mattison has garnered less than 35 rushing yards in each of his first two games as Minnesota's unquestioned lead back, leaving him with little momentum heading into what could be a solid Week 3 home matchup against the Chargers on Sunday, Sept. 24.

Mattison rushed 11 times for 34 yards and brought in three of four targets for 10 yards and a touchdown in the Vikings' 20-17 loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday.

EDGE Analysis

Playing his first game as the Vikings' unquestioned lead back, Mattison came up considerably short statistically overall, even when factoring in his early fourth-quarter receiving touchdown. The fifth-year back was repeatedly stifled by a traditionally tough Buccaneers run defense, so perhaps the highly inefficient performance -- which featured a long run of just nine yards -- will prove to be an outlier over time. However, Mattison doesn't exactly get a reprieve in his Week 2 matchup, a road date with the Eagles on a short week Thursday night.

The Vikings enter Week 1 with only Ty Chandler and Myles Gaskin behind Mattison on the depth chart, the Star Tribune reports.

EDGE Analysis

Mattison dealt with a minor injury in early August and didn't play in any preseason games, but he's been back in practice for a while now and is all set to lead the Minnesota backfield Week 1 against Tampa Bay. The extent of his workload remains to be seen, with a dominant share one of the possibilities given that Chandler and Gaskin are late-round picks in their mid-20s who combined for 20 touches last season. Both seem most likely to take playing time from Mattison in passing situations, if at all.

Mattison (undisclosed) did not play in Saturday's 18-17 preseason loss to the Cardinals.

EDGE Analysis

Mattison has been dealing with an undisclosed injury that has kept him out of preseason action. The Vikings are likely being precautious with him given his status as the team's lead back, though practice reports in the leadup to a Week 1 matchup against the Buccaneers will ultimately provide more information about his health.

Mattison (undisclosed) took part in Thursday's practice, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

EDGE Analysis

After Mattison missed the final stages of Tuesday's session while sporting a limp, he's been able to handle reps in back-to-back days. Wednesday's practice was a walkthrough, while the Vikings were back to a normal version Thursday, so he appears to be putting the injury behind him. Reserve running back Kene Nwangwu also is dealing with an unknown injury at the moment, so Minnesota signed Abram Smith on Thursday to bolster its backfield depth alongside Ty Chandler and rookie seventh-round pick DeWayne McBride.

Mattison (undisclosed) is participating in Wednesday's walkthrough, Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

EDGE Analysis

While a walkthrough doesn't entail contact or sprinting, Mattison's participation nonetheless indicates that the injury he suffered Tuesday isn't too serious. He was seen limping near the end of practice, which left Ty Chandler and DeWayne McBride as the only healthy tailbacks, with Kene Nwangwu (undisclosed) already sidelined. Mattison's spot atop the depth chart seems more solid than ever, as the Vikings still haven't signed a veteran running back and reportedly haven't received great performances from their young backups this summer (per Alec Lewis of The Athletic).

Mattison (undisclosed) was seen limping near the end of Tuesday's practice, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

The nature of Mattison's issue isn't known, but the running back observed the latter stages of the session from the sideline before making his way to the locker room, per Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. Kene Nwangwu (undisclosed) also didn't log any on-field work for a second consecutive day, which left plenty of RB reps for Ty Chandler and rookie seventh-rounder DeWayne McBride. Coach Kevin O'Connell will likely give an update on the state of the Vikings backfield in the near future, but for now Mattison's status is unclear.

Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said Thursday that Mattison "always knows what he's going to do" and is a better player than people realize, Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune reports.

EDGE Analysis

Mattison ran a 4.67 40-yard dash coming out of Boise State in 2019 and didn't have a single 20-yard gain on 89 touches last year, but what he lacks in explosiveness he arguably makes up for with versatility, having proven himself competent as a blocker and pass catcher while also possessing the size and strength to handle large rushing workloads. Although Phillips acknowledged that the Vikings will miss Dalvin Cook's big-play ability, the OC seemed to hint that Mattison should do a better job keeping the offense on schedule and avoiding runs for no gain or lost yardage. Whether that's true remain to be seen, but it's at least clear the Vikings have confidence in Mattison, as they re-signed him to a two-year, $7 million contract and still haven't added a veteran RB to compete for carries. In fact, they're the only team in the NFL with fewer than five tailbacks on the roster at the start of training camp, with Mattison joined by 2021 fourth-round pick Kene Nwangwu, 2022 fifth-round pick Ty Chandler and 2023 seventh-rounder DeWayne McBride.