3 Vikings who locked up roster spot, 1 on verge of being cut in preseason Week 1

Vikings player who made the roster No. 2: Ty Chandler, RB

Releasing Dalvin Cook this season has created a logjam in the Minnesota Vikings running back room.

There are few questions about who the starter is as Alexander Mattison, the longtime backup for Cook, is going to take over that role as the bell-cow back for Kevin O’Connell’s offense. But behind him, the general perception in training camp to this point has been that Ty Chandler, Kene Nwangwu, DeWayne McBride, and Abram Smith are all battling for their spots on the depth chart.

It was Chandler who got the start on Thursday night with the first offense that took the field. And though his spot on the roster in the most literal sense may have been confirmed already, Chandler made no doubts that he was the RB2 with plays like this, which happened regularly.

The numbers looked quite good at the end of the night as Chandler finished with 11 carries for 41 yards but also four catches for 29 yards as well. More importantly, he looked decisive, explosive and like he could have a role in the offense as the backup to Mattison this season.

Helping Chandler was definitely the fact that McBride, frankly, looked bad in his first NFL action, both on offense and on special teams, while Abram Smith averaged only 2.6 yards per carry. But even separated from his competition’s poor performance, Chandler separated himself in the running back room.