Minnesota Vikings: Time to unleash Dalvin Cook

The Minnesota Vikings enter Week 11 with a fresh pair of legs in Dalvin Cook. It’s time to feed him the rock.

The hype train for Minnesota Vikings second-year runner Dalvin Cook was enormous coming into the 2018 season. After a promising beginning to his rookie campaign — Cook tore his ACL on Oct. 1 last year — fans were extremely excited to see part two this season.

Wouldn’t you know it, though, Cook suffered a hamstring injury in Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers, which caused him to miss five of the Vikings’ next six games. He apparently tried coming back too early in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams, causing a setback to his injured hamstring.

The Vikings coaching staff realized Cook was dealing with a multiple-week injury, and decided to rest their star running back through the bye week — at least, that was the plan. Besides, backup runner Latavius Murray was doing well in his absence, which helped make the decision to sit Cook even easier.

The setback caused Cook to sit out until Week 9, one week before the Vikings’ bye week. He apparently talked coaches into letting him come back a little early; safe to say, it was a good decision.

In Cook’s return to action at home against the Detroit Lions, he racked up 89 rushing yards on 10 carries, while nabbing four receptions for 20 yards in the receiving game. That alone is a respectable stat line. But it was a 70-yard run in the second quarter that raised everyone’s eyebrows.

On the Vikings’ first play of the drive with 4:45 left in the first half, Cook took the handoff from Cousins out of the shotgun on an outside zone run. He proceeded to split a gigantic gap created by his offensive line, and was off to the races for a 70-yard gain.

Cook’s long run was a sign that his hamstring was doing just fine. In fact, according to NFL.com’s Next Gen Stats, it was the fastest any ball carrier has run this season, clocking in at a speed of 22.07 mph. Is there much more Minnesota needed to see?

The Vikings should lean heavily on Cook moving forward, and it shouldn’t be a question. With a week of rest from the bye, his body should be in excellent shape, especially since he’s only played in four games this season. Minnesota is a much different team with Cook on the field, and his performance against the Lions shows why.