Is Cook the best player on offense?

If you were to ask the Vikings’ coaching staff who they think the best player on the Vikings’ offense is, who would you guess they would say?

Maybe Adam Thielen, the all-pro wide receiver who is currently PFF’s #1 WR? Or maybe Stefon Diggs, the WR who draws the defensive attention to set up Thielen’s historic success? Or maybe Kirk Cousins, the QB throwing them the ball?

Based on how the coaches talk about the offense, my money would be on Dalvin Cook. Maybe that sounds silly given how talented Diggs and Thielen are, but Dalvin Cook is just something else.

Dalvin Cook Is the Hardest Player to Tackle in the NFL This Year—And It’s Not Close

Here is a graph of each running back in the NFL this season with at least 50 carries or catches showing how often they force a missed tackle (either by breaking it or evading it). Dalvin Cook is off the charts. Literally:



The average NFL back forces a missed tackle every six-and-a-half touches.

Cook forces a missed tackle once every three touches. That’s the best figure of any player (not just back) in the NFL. By a long shot.

The difference between Dalvin Cook and the second-most elusive back this year (Kareem Hunt) is nearly the same as the difference between Kareem Hunt and the league average. Cook is three standard deviations beyond the average, beyond the 99th percentile.

Marlon Mack has forced six missed tackles on 120 touches this season. Dalvin Cook forced six missed tackles on 3 catches just last week.

I could go on, but why talk about it when you can watch it?

The Counterarguments—Fumbles, Drops, Production and Injuries

Despite everything that flashes on film, there are plenty of good reasons Cook is not a household name just yet.

Cook only has three fumbles in his career, but given his limited volume, he does have an above-average fumble rate. The problem probably seems worse than it is in reality, as Cook has had the misfortune of having all three of his fumbles recovered by the defense (on average, offenses recover about half of their own fumbles). One of his fumbles came when he tore his ACL and lost the ball while reaching down towards his knee, and another fumble came after he had lost his shoe on the field. But even if those plays were a little fluky, ball security has been a bit of an issue for Cook going back to Florida State.

Cook also suffered from the occasional concentration drop in college, and in four games as a rookie, Cook recorded three drops. The issue has seemingly improved this year, as Cook only has one drop on over 20 targets (an above average rate for a back), but given his history might still come up going forward.

Cook only has 400 yards from scrimmage this year, and he only averages 3.5 yard per attempt this year. That will happen when you are running behind one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL and constantly getting hit in the backfield, because good run blocking tends to matter a lot more for running production than good running talent. Just compare 2016 Todd Gurley, who averaged 3.2 yards per carry running behind one of the worst lines, to the Todd Gurley this year running behind the NFL’s best run blockers. Whatever the film might say, Cook won’t be earning a pro bowl nod this year.

Cook has struggled with injuries through his career as well. At Florida State, Cook tore his labrum twice, the second tear requiring shoulder surgery. As a rookie, Cook tore his ACL. As a sophomore this year, Cook has been sidelined with a nagging hamstring injury. The bad thing about these injuries is obviously they have forced Cook to miss a lot of playing time. The good thing is they are all unrelated, so they would not necessarily suggest Cook is any more likely to be injured going forward.

All these flaws are very real concerns, but none of them are fatal. When you are as talented on film as Cook is, you happily take those lumps with his talent.

Dalvin Cook is a special kind of player. He glides through then breaks through would-be tacklers. He is as dangerous as anyone in the open field. And he is a complete weapon in the passing game. He has also shown tremendous development as a pass blocker. He’s not just a complete back; he’s a complete weapon.

When Dalvin Cook is fully healthy, he has a clear argument for the best player on the Vikings offense. And given how good the other weapons on this offense are, that is definitely saying something.