Despite not having a first-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings were still able to land one of the best players of the entire rookie class.
Due to trading for Sam Bradford in 2016, the Minnesota Vikings entered the 2017 NFL Draft with no first-round pick. Instead, the Vikings first opportunity to select a player would come in the second round.
As Minnesota’s turn to make a pick during the draft’s second day was approaching, the team saw that a very talented player was still on the board at position they needed to improve. Despite scoring 48 touchdowns in just three seasons at Florida State, no team had yet to take a chance on running back Dalvin Cook during the first 40 selections of the draft.
Seeing that the talented running back was still available, the Vikings’ front office made a few calls and agreed on a trade with the Cincinnati Bengals to move up seven spots from the 48th pick to 41st. With their new selection, Minnesota went ahead and drafted Cook.
From the moment he stepped on the practice field during the Vikings’ rookie mini-camp in May, the team knew they had something special in the young running back. Through the course of Minnesota’s 2017 offseason, Cook emerged as the top back on the team’s depth chart.
He showed some flashes during the Vikings’ preseason, but never had the type of game-breaking moment he became known for during his days at Florida State. However, that quickly changed during Minnesota’s first regular season game against the New Orleans Saints.
Minnesota Vikings
As former Vikings running back Adrian Peterson stood on the opposite sideline, Cook exploded for 127 rushing yards during Minnesota’s 29-19 win over the Saints.
Through his first three games, the young running back gained a total of 370 yards on on 71 touches and even scored his very first NFL touchdown in Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Unfortunately, Cook’s first season in the league came to an end midway through the Vikings Week 4 matchup with the Detroit Lions. The rookie running back tore his ACL that afternoon and was placed on injured reserve days later.
Luckily, Minnesota was able to make up for the loss of Cook and continued to have success running the ball in 2017. However, the thoughts of what could have been if the rookie rusher had not hurt his knee still remained.
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For now, Cook has to watch the Vikings succeed this year without his help. But come next season, the young running back will likely return to exciting Minnesota’s fans with his impressive talents.