Ty Chandler

From 6 carries as a rookie to 102 carries in year two — then back to a depth role.

Chandler's 2023 season — 102 carries, 461 yards, 3 TDs, 21 catches — was the only year he received a meaningful workload. 2024 cut his carries nearly in half (56), and 2025 (17 carries through 3 games) has him in a clear depth-role.

The arc tracks Minnesota's running-back room churn: when Aaron Jones got hurt or when Alexander Mattison/Cam Akers were absent, Chandler got the call. When the room was healthy, he sat.

4.56 YPC when given 10+ carries, 2.78 YPC otherwise — Chandler's stats are a direct product of volume.

In 9 games with 10+ carries, Chandler averaged 4.56 YPC (116 car, 529 yds). In the other 16 games where he touched the ball but got fewer than 10 carries, he averaged just 2.78 YPC (65 car, 181 yds).

The 1.78-yard gap isn't random — it's the difference between a back who warms up and gets into a rhythm and one who's taking token handoffs in mop-up duty. His 2023 season (where he had six 10+ carry games) produced 4.52 YPC; his 2024 season (where he had only two such games) fell to 3.25 YPC. The carries aren't just volume — they're the unlock condition for his efficiency.

All 4 NFL seasons on the same team — but his receiving usage is 1-in-7, not a pass-down back.

Chandler entered the league in 2022 as a 5th-round Vikings pick out of North Carolina and has been on Minnesota's roster every season since — 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025. In an era of constant backfield churn, that franchise stability is notable for a career backup.

But the role is firmly spelled out by his usage split: across 181 career carries, he has 30 career receptions — roughly 1 catch for every 6 rushes. That's a classic power-backup profile, not a pass-game asset. His highest receiving output was 21 catches in 2023 (his peak workload year), and that dropped to 6 in 2024 and 3 through 2025's first active games.

His 4-year line: 181 carries, 710 yards, 3.9 YPC, 3 rushing TDs; 30 catches, 212 receiving yards. The lack of a receiving role narrows his floor — when Minnesota's starter is healthy, Chandler rarely gets target-based involvement to stay relevant.

3 of 3 career rushing TDs came in 2023 — all in a 7-week window when Mattison was the lead back.

Every rushing TD Chandler has scored in the NFL happened between Week 10 and Week 16 of 2023 — a 7-week stretch where he was Minnesota's primary change-of-pace back. The 2024 season (56 carries, zero TDs) and 2025 (17 carries, zero TDs) are both scoreless.

The three TDs are revealing in their own right: they came on 15, 23, and 8 carries — meaning two came in heavy-workload games and one in a limited role. Zero came in the 8 other 2023 games where he touched the ball. This is a back whose TD opportunities track directly with carry volume; when he's not getting the ball 10–20 times, he's not near the end zone.

2024: 56 carries, 3.25 YPC — Chandler with 10+ carries went 8.2 YPC; without them, 2.1 YPC.

The 2024 season shows Chandler's split in stark terms: his Week 2 game vs. San Francisco (10 car, 82 yds, 8.2 YPC) is the kind of game that keeps a fringe back employed. Everything else in 2024 was mop-up work — 5 games with 5+ carries averaged just 2.37 YPC combined.

The season-level 3.25 YPC masks the story. When Aaron Jones arrived and the workload dried up, Chandler was left with token carries: 5 of his 14 regular-season games in 2024 produced zero or one carry. His role went from "handcuff starter" in 2023 to "emergency option" by 2024's midseason.