In the same offseason the Vikings spent money on heavy personnel in a way that recalled Mike Zimmer or Leslie Frazier, they made it so Kevin O'Connell would become the first Vikings coach since Brad Childress to open a season without a former Pro Bowler as his lead running back.
The Vikings' 2023 offense is calibrated to be both glossy and rugged, in a way that many of its predecessors were not, and the face of its new running game is Alexander Mattison, the 2019 third-round pick who carried just 404 times in his first four seasons and made it onto the free-agent market for several hours before agreeing to a two-year, $7 million contract that signaled a shift was coming.