The Minnesota Vikings are reportedly considering moving on from star running back Dalvin Cook. Cook is entering the final year of his contract and is due to make $15.5 million in 2023. The Vikings have a number of other high-priced players that they’re concerned with on the cap hit, but Cook can’t be one of them.
The Vikings would be hard-pressed to find a running back who can replace Cook's production. They would also have to pay a high price to acquire a comparable player and there are no other backs in the NFL, better than Cook, that are free agents. The NFL draft has passed and so has the ability to move to a younger, high-caliber back.
It is important to note that Cook has not been without his injury problems. He has missed 13 games over the past four seasons.
However, when he is healthy, he is one of the most dynamic players in the NFL. Flat out watch his games from 2022…. He gets into open space and is flat out G-O-N-E, gone!! He does it against Indy, Bufffalo, and Miami last season. When he gets to open space, he runs like Tyreek Hill and can’t be caught. When he feels he is going to get caught, he lays down the wood and immediately pile drives that defender for as much YAC as his legs can carry. There aren’t many plays where the Viking o-line opens up gaping holes, but the lanes he sees, he commits to and takes advantage of in the same manner that only Josh Jacobs, Isiah Pacheco, and JK Dobbins do.
Moving on from Cook would be a bad idea for the Vikings. Cook is one of the best running backs in the NFL. He has rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the past four seasons. He is also a threat in the passing game, catching over 50 passes in each of the past two seasons. So knowing that, let’s look at his BONAFIDE VALUE (#BO_NO) and the Minnesota Vikings Depth Tracker. With an offense as potent as theirs, tell me why you want to move off of that and I’ll show you why you don’t.
When a situation like this arises on a veteran, I want to see 2 things: 1) The potency of the offense and 2) the team playoff capability. Obviously, Minnesota has both. Teams are VERY hard pressed to have around 1 BONAFIDE player on offense. Minnesota has 3 w/ Cook, Hockenson and Justin Jefferson. Beyond that, we see that Cousins has above average ELITE capability (BO NO VALUE greater than zero, but less than one) and 2 excellent young receivers in Osborn and rookie, Jordan Addison!
Now let’s look at Dalvin Cook, independently of the Vikings. Realistically, there’s only about 10 backs in the league that are possibly better than Cook.
His break away, big play speed is ELITE. The tier of him with Aaron Jones, Joe Mixon and Miles Sanders makes sense with the style of play he has. Beyond that, you’re talking a significant drop off in consistency that you can’t count on, on the weeks you need it most!
Managing an NFL team, for Dalvin Cook, is simple in this scenario. He’s playing the final year of his contract for almost $15M on a loaded offense. Find a way to move on from him either during or after the season if you move in that path. Probably upgrade somehow above Alexander Mattison and upgrade both after the season. The void of replacing Cook for the sake of money is much greater than the $15 million he’s worth on that dynamite offense. Keep Cook, don’t make a multi-million-dollar Minnesota mistake. There's NO DB8! #nodb8sports #keepcook #bo_no #dalvincook #minnesotavikings #NFLfreeagency #fantasyfootball