Vikings Running Back Duo of Cook and Mattison Ranked 17th-best in NFL by B/R
The Vikings' running back duo of Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison ranks just 17th-best in the NFL, according to Matt Miller of Bleacher Report.
Miller recently ranked the RB duos of all 32 teams in the league, using "a combination of my own evaluating, Pro Football Focus grades, the analytics of Football Outsiders, and opinions from pro and college scouts around the NFL" to give all 64 running backs a composite score. The two scores are then added together.
For the Vikings, Dalvin Cook received a 90 grade, tied with Alvin Kamara for sixth-best. Ahead of Cook and Kamara are Christian McCaffrey, Ezekiel Elliot, Nick Chubb, Derrick Henry, and Saquon Barkley. I think you can make an argument for Cook above a couple of those players because of his versatility, but the reality is that he has yet to stay healthy for a full season. A 90 grade seems fair.
My issue with this ranking is when you get to Mattison's score of 72. That's tied for 25th-best among backup running backs, which seems absurdly low to me. Last year, the rookie out of Boise State ran for 462 yards on 100 carries (4.6 YPC) and added 82 receiving yards. His PFF grade of 70.0 ranks 31st among backs with at least 100 snaps played. So how in the world does he end up ranked T-57th by this composite score?
The 72 grade is tied with Darrell Henderson of the Rams, who ran for 147 yards on 3.8 yards per carry last year, with a 61.8 PFF grade. Mike Davis is a 71, and he had a grand total of 27 rushing yards last year. Mattison is ranked behind ten rookie running backs, including Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Zack Moss, and Darrynton Evans. I get that Miller used a formula, but I just don't know how it winds up giving Mattison a 72 grade.
Combined, Cook and Mattison's score is 162. That's tied with the Patriots, Colts, and Raiders, but they all rank ahead of the Vikings because their backup had a grade above 72. The Browns led the way with a 183 score thanks to their duo of Chubb (94) and Kareem Hunt (89).
Even with the low grade for Mattison, the Vikings' duo is still tops in the NFC North. The Packers are one point behind at 161 points (88 from Aaron Jones and 73 from A.J. Dillon), the Lions are 20th with 159 (80, Kerryon Johnson and 79, D'Andre Swift), and the Bears are 27th with 151 (77, David Montgomery and 74, Tarik Cohen).
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