Alexander Mattison carving out a bigger role in Raiders’ offense

Bettors at one major sports book backed Raiders running back Zamir White more than any other player to lead the NFL in rushing yards at one point over the summer.

The third-year pro out of the University of Georgia relatedly climbed up fantasy football draft boards at around the same time.

All those White optimists now have reason for concern only one game into the 2024 NFL season. Supposed sidekick Alexander Mattison both out-produced White in Sunday’s loss to the Chargers — the former had 64 yards on nine touches and the Raiders’ only touchdown to the latter’s 15 touches for 46 yards — and out-snapped him — 36 plays to 23.

“I thought he did an outstanding job,” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said of Mattison on Wednesday. “More importantly, I know he had a great catch and a hurdle, but then just in pass pro, he was very physical. He got the tough yards. I’ve said before, whoever can help us win, the hot hand, we’ll roll with that.”

Pierce didn’t exactly proclaim that the sixth-year veteran Mattison was now at the top of the depth chart, but his comments did feature a change of tone from most of the summer.

Ever since Las Vegas signed former Minnesota Viking, it described him as a complement or passing-down back to the expected workhorse White.

But the Raiders started using more of a running back by committee approach as training camp went on, and now, it appears likely the workload will be evenly split starting with Sunday’s Week 2 at the Baltimore Ravens.

“He’s a dynamic player,” Raiders receiver Davante Adams said of Mattison. “I’ve played against him quite a bit in Green Bay. We had our times when we went head-to-head. He’s a great player and he brings another dimension to our offense.”

Mattison could conceivably unseat White as the feature back eventually if the latter continues to struggle as much as he did against the Chargers.

Pro Football Focus graded White as the 70^th rated running back in Week 1, worst in the league among those who played at least 10 snaps. He had a tough time breaking through a line of scrimmage dominated by Los Angeles’ defensive front, and once he finally did with an eight-yard run in the third quarter, White made his biggest mistake of all.

Chargers edge rusher Joey Bosa poked the ball out of his hands for an open-field fumble in Raiders’ territory.

White was critical of his own performance Wednesday and said he was ready to atone for it against the Ravens.

“Learn from last week but just move on,” he said. “New week, keeping being you, keep playing your game.”

White and Mattison are tight and there’s no awkwardness around their competition for carries. In fact, Mattison was one of the first to encourage White on the sidelines after the fumble.

The Raiders want to be a run-first team, and neither White nor Mattison think they can do it fully unless they both play better.

“We want to be the legs of this football team,” Mattison said. “As we go, they go. We want to make sure we take that whole-heartedly with every carry, with every touch, every protection that we have.”

Mattison had the big, hurdling play in the pass game against the Chargers but didn’t make an impact on the ground with only five carries for 19 yards.

The San Bernadino, Calif. native and Boise State University graduate was brought in because he had familiarity with a scheme similar to the one run by new Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.

Mattison’s comfort with zone-running principles and the pass-game progressions allowed him to assist White throughout training camp, but now, it’s also helping him settle in to his second NFL stop faster.

“Like that (touchdown) play, I understood that (quarterback Gardner Minshew) was going to come for me with this ball so I made sure I was ready, made sure I knew how far that defender was going to be,” Mattison said. “And just like I thought in my head, he checked all his progressions and checked it down to me. Just being understanding, knowing those situations is definitely helpful.”

Mattison tracked down the Raiders’ equipment manager a couple series after his score to make sure he kept the ball for him — and not just because it was his first touchdown in Las Vegas. Mattison’s wife, Drea, was in labor with the couple’s second child, a son named Akhil, during the game and delivered about an hour after he arrived at the hospital back in Las Vegas.

Mattison wanted to keep the ball for his son. There could be plenty more coming that he could keep for himself.

“You're in the game thinking, 'Hey, listen, a lot of Zamir White,' and then Alex Mattison makes some plays,” Pierce said. “And as we go throughout the week, we'll look at that more and more."

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or