The Minnesota Vikings top pick in the 2017 NFL Draft had plenty of jaw-dropping moments during his college career at Florida State.
When the time was coming closer for the Minnesota Vikings to select a player in the second-round of the 2017 NFL Draft and Florida State running back Dalvin Cook was still available, the Vikings’ front office knew they had to make a move to land him. Luckily for Minnesota, the Cincinnati Bengals agreed to a trade that allowed the Vikings to move up seven spots in the second round and select Cook with the 41st overall pick.
While at Florida State, the running back was a literal example of a human highlight reel. In 2016, he scored a total of 20 touchdowns and six of those were on plays that gained at least 20 yards.
His patience to wait for his running lanes to develop combined with his breakaway speed made for a lethal combination during his time at Florida State. Now he gets to put those skills to use in the NFL for the Vikings.
Last season, only 25 percent of Minnesota’s total touchdowns were scored on running plays, down from 47 percent in 2015 and 34 percent in 2014. With the addition of a big-play machine like Cook and free-agent running back Latavius Murray this offseason, the Vikings should see this number resemble something similar to what it was back in 2015.
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Cook has the abilities to eventually be remembered as the best running back taken in this most recent draft and that reason alone is why Minnesota knew they had to take a chance on him.