Dalvin Cook is a running back for the Minnesota Vikings and played his college football at Florida State. A naitve of West Little River, Florida, Cook played at Miami Central High school, but didn’t begin playing football until his sophomore year of high school. During his first season of football, Cook played backup to senior running back Devonta Freeman, who would also go on to play at Florida State. Cook rushed for 4,267 yards and 64 touchdowns during his time at Miami Central High School, and was also one of the top sprinters in Florida. Cook was a a five-star running back recruit when he enrolled at Florida State in 2014, and was twice named First-team All-American and First-team All-ACC during his three years with the Seminoles. After declaring for the NFL Draft and the end of the 2016 season, the Vikings would go on to pick Cook with the 41st overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, making him the third back off the board after Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey. Cook’s college stats were a rushing line of 687-4464-46, while he also posted a receiving line of 79-935-2.
Cook’s career got off to a hot start when he set the Vikings’ rookie debut rushing record with 127 yards. He went on to have a strong first three weeks in the league before a Week 4 game against the Lions ended with a torn ACL, thus ending his season. He would see only 10 games in 2018, and finished with a rushing line of 133-615-2 due to multiple injuries, but has played in 13 or more games in each of the following three seasons.
It’s safe to say that Cook hasn’t completely shed the “injury-prone” label, as he’s missed games in each of his five seasons. But when healthy, he’s one of the league’s best backs. He has rushed for 1,000+ yards in three straight years, and totaled 29 rushing touchdowns in 2019 and 2020 before rushing for just six scores in 2021. Last season with the Vikings, he posted a rushing line of 249-1159-6, missing two games with an ankle sprain and one game with a torn labrum and dislocated shoulder.
When healthy, however, the Vikings leaned heavily on Cook. He saw the most snaps of any back in the league and finished the year with a 70.5% snap share along with a 79.7% opportunity share. Cook ranked No. 11 in broken and evaded tackles (73) and was 18th in yards created (623) while finishing second with 21 breakaway runs. Having always displayed good hands, he was also 20th in routes run (221) with an 11.7% target share, and finished the season with 30 receptions for 224 yards, posting four drops.
Cook will enter his age 26 season in 2022, and should be in line for another solid season under new head coach Kevin O’Connell. Cook had a fantasy ranking of RB9 in fantasy points per game last season (15.9), and has never struggled for touches when healthy. His health is undoubtedly the biggest question mark for him, which will likely remain the case throughout his career. But when available, Cook has proven to be one of the best backs in the NFL, finishing twice as the overall RB2 in points per game (2019 and 2020). Injuries aside, Cook should continue to carry a top running back ADP in 2022, and is currently under contract with the Vikings through the 2025 season.
