Alexander Mattison is the new undisputed No. 1 running back with the Minnesota Vikings after Dalvin Cook's release — and the 25-year-old is looking forward to the opportunity.
“I like to go into every season preparing like I'm the back. That's kind of where my mindset has always been,” Mattison said on SiriusXM NFL Radio following Cook's release.
“That's kind of where we, as a running back group, held ourselves to that standard of. I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful for having Dalvin in that running back room and challenging me to challenge him every single day, so that kind of helped me out within my preparation.”
Now that the running back role is his, the California native is eager to maximize it in 2023 after signing a two-year contract with the team this offseason.
“With that understanding of knowing kind of where my role is going to be and maximize it. I've been a lot more prepared in the way of understanding where I'm going to be at in the playbook, where I'm going to have to be at physically, my stamina,” Mattison continued.
“It's just a whole bunch that I have to now take into account but without applying too much pressure, of course, because this is a game of ball that we have grown to love and grown to adapt to at all different levels. I'm definitely comfortable as a professional athlete and understanding what I have to do to get the job done. Now just cranking that thing up and getting ready for this opportunity that I have in front of me.”
Although Dalvin Cook is gone, most of the Vikings offense is intact following an excellent 13-win regular season. And Alexander Mattison envisions another big year for the team.
“To be there, be a part of this team, this locker room, the ownership, the staff. It's a great place to be, so I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, and while I'm with this opportunity in front of me, I just see so much upside,” the running back explained.
“We've gone back to the drawing board, and we've seen a lot of where we can improve from last year, especially in the run game, so it's pretty exciting.”
It looks like a breakout campaign could be on the horizon for Vikings' Alexander Mattison in 2023.
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