Dalvin Cook didn’t have to wait long on Friday night. In fact, after falling out of the first round on Thursday, Cook, the FSU star, was the second-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings. Now, the school’s all-time leading rusher will replace Adrian Peterson in the lineup.
Cook has been the subject of scrutiny since the end of the 2016-17 college football season. To begin with, there are questions about his durability, fumbles and being able to pass block. If that wasn’t enough, there were questions about his “friends” away from football and a subpar Combine workout.
Cook had plenty to answer for before he heard his name called Friday night.
With the Minnesota Vikings, he has a chance to show the NFL what he can do.
A Pro Day performance in March, where he ran a sub 4.5 40-yard dash and showed he could catch the football consistently helped his stock. After his performance in Tallahassee, Cook was linked to the Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs. In Minnesota, he gives the offense a breakaway back every time he touches the ball. He joins Latavius Murray, who came over from Oakland to carry the football.
According to sportingnews.com, Cook ran for 1,765 yards and 19 touchdowns last season and finished his three-year career at Florida State with 4,464 yards and 46 scores. He also caught 79 passes for 935 yards and two touchdowns as a Seminole.
Cook’s innate ability to catch the ball is one aspect of his game that might separate him from other backs. Longtime wide receivers coach Jerry Sullivan, who retired in January after 25 years in the NFL, told Omnisport that Cook reminds him of Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell.
“The guy’s got the whole package,” Sullivan, who was most recently with the Jaguars from 2012-16, said of Cook. “He’s a great receiver out of the backfield, smart, instinctive. If you put him outside, he can catch.
Dalvin Cook was a first-team All-American his junior year at Florida State. However, he bypassed his final season in college to declare for the NFL Draft.