Throughout the offseason, there was still some thought that newly-acquired Latavius Murray would be the Minnesota Vikings starting running back and that Pat Shurmur would need to investigate how to share reps between Murray, Jerick McKinnon and second-round pick Dalvin Cook.
That idea seems silly in retrospect, as Cook grabbed hold of the first-string role in training camp and never looked back, totaling 288 yards in three games. He’s taken over 70 percent of the team’s carries so far, while McKinnon and Murray have taken less than 10 percent each. That’s a greater workload than Adrian Peterson had in 2015, and it doesn’t even include the work he’s doing in the passing game. Cook had 72 yards receiving against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a mark that Peterson only exceeded twice in the career.
Cook is second in the league in rushing behind fellow rookie Kareem Hunt, second in rushing attempts behind Todd Gurley and 10th overall in yards per carry. Ostensibly, those who believed the Vikings were abandoning the feature-back system with the departure of Peterson were mistaken. The Vikings are clearly comfortable putting a lot of mileage on the 22-year-old Cook’s legs, and he is comfortable accepting the challenge.
“It’s all about sticking to a routine. You’ve got to stick to a routine,” said Cook. “This game rolls around fast. We’ve got a game coming up Sunday that you’ve got to get ready for, and you just got done banging and going after it this past Sunday.”
Based on the first three games, it seems likely Cook will shoulder a heavy load as long as he stays healthy, and if he shows the improvement most are anticipating, his final numbers have potential to be gaudy.
Cook is currently on pace for 1,536 rushing yards, which would best Peterson’s rookie season by over 200 yards. He is also on pace for 437 receiving yards, which would top Peterson’s best-ever receiving season with the Vikings. Only once did Peterson ever have 1,900 or more yards from scrimmage, and Cook may do it in his first year.
Clearly, three games is a minuscule sample size. Cook could get hurt, for one, or he could have a lackluster performance that throws off his pace substantially.
He’s also benefited twice from the Vikings having big leads and the luxury of running the ball in the second half. Cook, to his credit, has taken advantage of those situations with 6.8 yards per carry after halftime this season.
On the other hand, there’s reason to believe Cook will only improve. He dropped several passes in the first two weeks but has been working with running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu on pass-catching and already looked better against the Buccaneers. Opposing defenses could also start giving more favorable run looks because of their respect for the Vikings passing game, which has exploded in two out of three weeks.
Lastly, Cook may simply catch up to the speed of the NFL game. “It’s definitely been slowing down for me,” he said Monday.
After three games, it’s rash to lump Cook and Peterson into the same stratosphere. Part of Peterson’s allure was his consistent greatness for an entire decade, while Cook is just an infant in the NFL.
The track he’s on, however, is encouraging, and if the Vikings continue using him at such a high rate, his rookie season may be one of the best the team has had in recent memory.
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