NFL Week 6 Surprises
Alexander Mattison: 38.37
Minnesota Vikings running back Alexander Mattison received the highest OSM grade of any running back so far in Week 6, at 38.37. On the surface, exactly why this was the case might be difficult to discern. His conventional statistics weren’t anything special: only 14 attempts for 63 yards. And most of his Next Gen Stats were merely average as well. His efficiency rating, which measures how many yards a running back travels for each actual yard gained, was 4.24, placing him in the lower half of all running back ratings in Week 6. Mattison’s 4.5 yards per carry fared better, placing at seventh among qualifying running backs. However, on its own, that wouldn’t be enough to give him such a high OSM grade.
So why was Mattison the highest-graded running back of Week 6 by a huge margin? He faced eight or more defenders in the box 85.71% of the time, the highest percentage of the week. It was more than double the percentage faced by the next player (His teammate, Dalvin Cook, was third on the list at 37.5%). In fact, it was the highest percentage faced by any running back this season. That Mattison managed even mediocre statistics despite the situation he was placed in is incredible.
I don’t mean to suggest that Mattison should be starting any time soon. This game was only the second time that he played enough snaps to qualify for an OSM grade, and the first time he received a grade of 12.14. So it seems unlikely that he will replace Dalvin Cook any time soon. Still, it is nice to know that Minnesota has a backup capable of filling in if Cook needs a rest.