The Minnesota Vikings must answer several questions this offseason, though one reality shines through the muck of the team’s 7-10 campaign in 2023 — Alexander Mattison is not the answer in the backfield.
Judd Zulgad of USA Today’s Vikings Wire on Thursday, January 25, asserted as much as he examined a compilation of four free agents the Vikings will potentially target once March rolls around. Among the list was running back Tony Pollard, currently of the Dallas Cowboys.
The Vikings could try to solve their issues at running back by making Ty Chandler the No. 1 guy next season, but it’s not a given that will happen and the team is in need of depth at this spot.
Alexander Mattison, who signed a two-year, $7 million extension last offseason, figures to be back but he failed to take control of the top role.
Pollard, 26, could be an interesting fit sharing time in the backfield. He saw his per carry average dip from 5.2 to 4.0 yards this season, but he had six touchdowns and caught 55 passes for 311 yards (5.7 average). Mattison and Chandler caught 51 passes combined. The other thing that separates Pollard from the Vikings’ duo is that he’s very good in pass protection and, thus, can be trusted on third down.
Tony Pollard’s Production Dipped in 2023, but Cowboys RB Still Gained More Than 1,000 Rushing Yards
Pollard is a one-time Pro Bowler (2022) and two-time 1,000-yard rusher, achieving the feat in each of his past two campaigns.
Despite his success, however, Zulgad pointed out that Pollard’s per carry production dipped after Ezekiel Elliott departed for the New England Patriots last offseason. However, that development could serve the Vikings’ purposes.
“Pollard played this season on the franchise tag and had to carry far more of the workload with Ezekiel Elliott no longer in Dallas. Just as Mattison didn’t live up to expectations with Cook gone in Minnesota, Pollard fell short in Dallas when he carried the ball,” Zulgad wrote. “That decrease in production figures to drop his value and, at the right price, giving him an opportunity to compete for a job with the Vikings could make everyone better.”
Pollard played the 2023 season on a one-year, $10.1 million deal due to the team’s utilization of the franchise tag to keep him out of free agency. Spotrac projects Pollard’s market value just shy of $20 million over a new three-year contract.
Vikings Running Back Ty Chandler Made Leap at Season’s End
Chandler became Minnesota’s primary rusher late in the year and finished relatively strong.
The second-year RB tallied 461 rushing yards on 102 carries (4.5 yards per carry) and 3 TDs as well as 21 receptions for 159 yards. He appeared in all 17 of the team’s regular-season games in 2023, with his highlight performance coming Week 15 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Chandler carried the football 23 times, gaining 132 yards and scoring a TD in that contest. He also caught 3 passes for 25 yards.
His performance against Cincinnati suggests that Chandler is ready for an increased role on a week-to-week basis. The notion that he is a three-down starter in the NFL, however, remains far-fetched until he proves it over a considerably larger sample size. As such, Minnesota is a good bet to be in the market for a running back of some sort this free-agency period, be that player Pollard or someone else.
