Mike Zimmer says Dalvin Cook looks ‘really, really good’ this year

Entering his third season with the Minnesota Vikings, the young running back has impressed his coaches during the team’s OTAs and minicamp.

After his first few games in the league, it seemed like the Minnesota Vikings got the steal of the 2017 NFL Draft in running back Dalvin Cook. The Vikings were lucky enough to snag him with a second-round selection two years ago and he quickly emerged as the top guy in their backfield during his rookie season.

Unfortunately, injuries have limited Cook’s ability to ever be a significant factor in Minnesota’s offense over the past two years. The young Vikings running back has missed a total of 17 games during his first two seasons with the team due to various injuries.

For 2019, Minnesota is hoping that the upcoming season will finally be when Cook is able to stay healthy and emerge as an important part of the team’s offense each week.

During the Vikings’ OTA and minicamp practices this spring, the team’s coaching staff has been impressed with what they have seen from the 23-year-old running back so far. Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer is among those who have liked what Cook has been doing out on the practice field this year and he shared his thoughts on Thursday.

"“I think (Dalvin) Cook has had a really, really good spring. Gary (Kubiak) and I were talking about him this morning, he looks really, really good. Especially, in the things we’re trying to do in the running game.”"

Cook is one of many players the Vikings’ coaching staff has been impressed with this offseason. Moving forward though, the key for all of these guys is to really just stay healthy.

Given Cook’s recent injury history, however, staying on the field is currently something that is easier said than done.

But this offseason is much different for the running back than what he was going through last year. Cook was still recovering from his torn ACL during Minnesota’s 2018 spring practices and this year, he’s been about as close to 100 percent healthy as one can get.

Will that make a difference in how well he can play in 2019? That is obviously the hope for Cook and the Vikings, but everyone will just have to wait and see for now.