Championship dreams for Vikings in 2020 are gone without Dalvin Cook

Without their top running back in 2020, the Minnesota Vikings will struggle to contend for much of anything.

Without an extension from the Minnesota Vikings, Dalvin Cook will not play in 2020. That has been reported numerous times and that is what Cook intends to do in order to get a new deal that pays him like the top-five NFL running back that he is.

Obviously, the Vikings would love for Cook to just play out the final year of his rookie contract that will only account for about $2 million of their 2020 salary cap. But that isn’t going to happen.

Cook knows this is his opportunity to get paid and he’s going to make sure he does. No one should have a problem with someone attempting to earn a salary that they believe they feel they are worth. People in offices all around the country do it every day, so why can’t he?

If the Minnesota Vikings want to be a legit contender in 2020, they need to extend Dalvin Cook.

With the news of Cook holding out happening recently, the “don’t pay a running back” crowd came out of the woodwork. Fancy graphs and charts were inserted into various articles to argue against extending Cook and just about all of them failed to acknowledge the fact that the Vikings don’t run their offense like most teams around the NFL.

Despite what certain analytics might say, Minnesota takes pride in their offense being built around their rushing attack. Vikings offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak is a guru of the zone-blocking scheme and he sees Cook as a great fit for what he’s trying to do next season.

Kubiak and Minnesota also know that without their top running back playing in 2020, the team’s offensive firepower takes a gigantic step backward.

But the Vikings could still make it back to the playoffs during the upcoming season with Alexander Mattison and Mike Boone, right? That’s the message that many from the anti-pay the running back crowd have been trying to send, but just making the postseason is not what Minnesota wants to do in 2020.

Sur,e they could still possibly earn a spot in the playoffs with Mattison and Boone splitting time in the backfield next season. But don’t think that combo will actually do much damage once the Vikings are in the postseason and going up against the top teams in their conference.

With Cook on the field, Minnesota’s offense becomes much more lethal. Anyone who watched a Vikings game from 2019, and not just the highlights, could see this very, very clearly. Go ahead and try to tell someone with a straight face that opposing defenses are going to be just as worried about Minnesota’s offense next season if Cook isn’t in the lineup.

The goal for each team around the league every year is to win a championship, at least for everyone who isn’t trying to tank for the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. So if this is actually the case for the Vikings, then they should be doing everything they can to make sure Cook is playing next season.

The solution is simple and it’s been made clear by the running back. Cook just wants a, “reasonable,” extension from Minnesota and then he will return to work. If the Vikings want to do more than just bow out in the first round of the playoffs next season, then they will figure out a way to get a deal done.