2 weeks Ago By Tyler Forness, A to Z Sports
The Minnesota Vikings have one of the best offenses in the National Football League, especially when you look at the advanced metrics. In neutral situations with 10-90% win probability (essentially when the game is still in doubt), the Vikings have the fourth-highest EPA/play and the highest EPA/dropback in the NFL. Going into the season, head coach Kevin O'Connell wanted to put more of a focus on the running game and he did so this offseason by putting Blake Brandel as his starting left guard and signing running back Aaron Jones to a one-year contract worth up to $7 million.
They believed Jones would be a great compliment in the running game, but it hasn't quite been the case. Have the Vikings lost trust in Ty Chandler? Jones has been really good for the Vikings this season. Through seven games, Jones has ran for 501 yards and two touchdowns along with catching 22 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown.
The one thing that the Vikings thought they would have is an emerging running back in Ty Chandler. Even though he ran the ball 10 times for 82 yards against the San Francisco 49ers in week two, Chandler's snap counts have been going down consistently. The last four games have shown a serious decline in Chandler's snaps.
He played in 19 against the New York Jets, mainly due to Jones leaving the game with a hip/hamstring injury. He played in three snaps each against the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions with zero snaps against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night . Has head coach Kevin O'Connell lost faith in Chandler? It's certainly possible.
The Vikings did trade for running back Cam Akers a couple of weeks ago but he didn't see a single snap on offense on Thursday. Last season, the Vikings strayed far away from the running game because there wasn't a trust in the running backs. O'Connell had some good things to say about Akers during his Friday press conference.
"Cam's going to play a role for sure within our offense. I think we've got a ton of confidence in Aaron Jones and just how the game played out, I think when we get a few more snaps, get a little bi This season, it appears to be the same. Chandler has 44 carries for 151 yards this season, but a success rate of just 36.
4% (50th in the NFL) is a tough pill to swallow. Chandler did have two toss plays against the Jets that got called back for a total of nearly 40 yards. The issue with Chandler is that he doesn't see well enough with zone runs.
This play was from last November, but it still holds true today. Chandler has all the speed you could want from a running back but the vision and decision-making have significantly hindered his growth over the last three seasons. If you are 0.
3 seconds slower in making the decision to hit the hole, the 4.38 speed doesn't mean nearly as much. The Vikings could really use someone to break out and be an impactful running back behind Jones and we all thought it would be Chandler.
If O'Connell doesn't put him on the field, he can't take that next step. Plus, there is the option for the Vikings to take a running back early on in April's NFL Draft, as it's a loaded class. Whatever the Vikings end up doing, they can't have this be the situation next season.
This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission..
