Minnesota Vikings: 5 Biggest questions for the 2020 season
3. Will Dalvin Cook be able to continue dominance?
Over the course of the last few seasons, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer has been publicly vocal about wanting the offense to focus on the running game rather than the passing attack.
That has meant that running back Dalvin Cook has seen his role in the offense expand perhaps more than any other player on that side of the line of scrimmage, and his 2019 campaign resulted in a high level of production out of the backfield.
Cook was one of the more dominant players among the offensive unit in Minnesota last season, leading things on the ground to counter the passing game led by quarterback Kirk Cousins and company.
While remaining healthy throughout nearly the entirety of the regular season for the first time in his three-year NFL career, Cook emerged as one of the top running backs in the league and led things in the ground game for Minnesota this year.
Cook played a huge role in helping the Vikings come out on top in a matchup week-in and week-out when he took the field, wrapping up the season with a career-high 1,135 rushing yards on a career-most 250 carries in 14 appearances. Cook also recorded 13 rushing touchdowns on the ground and even tallied a career-best 53 receptions through the air with 519 receiving yards out of the backfield.
In 2020, Cook will once again gain a lot of touches in the backfield, but the biggest question remains whether or not he will return to form from 2019 and will ultimately be able to stay healthy for a full 16 regular-season games. If he is able to do that, this Vikings team will continue to thrive.
Moving forward, it will be important for the Minnesota offense to have Cook continue to take steps in the right direction and put together solid performances like he did last year if the Vikings want to continue to improve in the 2020 campaign and return to the playoffs.
When Cook is thriving within this offensive group, the Vikings take things to the next level and have the ability to be one of the top units on offense in the NFL.