Where do Dalvin Cook’s first three seasons rank with other Minnesota Vikings greats?
The Minnesota Vikings have done a tremendous job in retaining their top players over the past few years.
It started with signing safety Harrison Smith to a five-year, $51.3 million contract in 2016. Two years later, the Vikings signed linebacker Eric Kendricks to a five-year, $50 million deal.
Minnesota completed four big deals in 2019 with Danielle Hunter (five years, $72 million), Anthony Barr (five years, $67.5 million), Adam Thielen (four years, $64.2 million) and Kyle Rudolph (four years, $36 million). This offseason the deals continued with a two-year extension for Kirk Cousins worth $66 million.
Dalvin Cook hopes he is next in line to cash in with the Vikings. Cook enters the 2020 season on the last year of his rookie contract and he’s set to only make $1.3 million in base salary. He has already indicated he will not participate in any team activities until he signs an extension and he is prepared to sit out the season.
Minnesota general manager Rick Spielman and the team’s executive vice president of football operations, Rob Brzezinski, will need to work their magic once more in massaging the team’s salary cap position to find a way to sign Cook to a “reasonable” amount of money that both sides can agree to.
According to Spotrac.com, the Vikings currently have around $11 million in available cap space (Top 51), but they also haven’t signed any of their 2020 draft picks yet.
An argument for not extending Cook is that he has yet to play an entire season and his backup, Alexander Mattison, is capable to take over with a cap hit of only $880,000. On the other hand, when healthy, Cook is a game-changer and he is just as effective as a pass-catcher out of the backfield.
Adding to the situation is the fact that Minnesota is a little unsettled at wide receiver this year. Thielen is coming off a season where he missed six games and the Vikings traded away Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills providing plenty of leverage to Cook in his request for a long-term extension.
Look for Spielman to find a way to extend his top running back beyond 2020. Last season, Cook gained 1,654 total yards from scrimmage—good enough for 10th in the NFL.
Based on the salaries of the top running backs in the league for 2020, Minnesota will need to pay Cook as much as $6.8 million in base salary per season. That would place him on par with Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys, who currently has the fifth-highest base salary of any NFL running back.
In three seasons, Cook has totaled 3,018 yards from scrimmage with 19 touchdowns. So how does his performance stack up against some of the best running backs Vikings history?
The following ranking uses data from the first three seasons of each running back with Minnesota. Calculations to determine the ranking emphasized total yards from scrimmage, touchdowns, and games played. Let’s dive in and go over who top eight running backs in their first three seasons with the Vikings are.
Robert Smith (1993 – 1995)
- 33 games
- 252 carries
- 1,137 rushing yards
- 1,388 yards from scrimmage
- 8 touchdowns
Any list of Vikings running backs needs to include Robert Smith, who is second all-time in franchise history with 6,818 rushing yards.
Selected by Minnesota in the first round of the 1993 NFL Draft., Smith played eight seasons with the team. His best year came in 2000 when he rushed for 1,521 yards with a 5.2 yards per carry average and then he promptly retired from the NFL.
Unfortunately, Smith’s career started out slowly. Like Dalvin Cook, Smith never played an entire season over his first three years with the Vikings. He only started nine games from 1993 to 1995. Injuries limited his effectiveness and in 33 games, he only carried the ball 252 times for 1,137 yards—easily the lowest totals of any player in the ranking.
A two-time Pro Bowler player, Smith was an integral part of one of the best offenses in NFL history. In 1998, the Vikings averaged 34.8 points per game. That season Smith rushed for 1,187 yards and six touchdowns while also catching 28 passes for 291 yards and another two touchdowns.
During Week 2 of the 1998 season against the St. Louis Rams, Smith had the best game of his career as he rushed for 178 yards and scored two touchdowns in a 38-31 victory for the Vikings.
8. Tommy Mason (1961 – 1963)
- 40 games
- 393 carries
- 1,729 rushing yards
- 2,819 yards from scrimmage
- 24 touchdowns
Kicking off the ranking is the Vikings very first draft pick in team history, Tommy Mason. Selected first overall by Minnesota in the 1961 NFL draft, Mason was also drafted by the Boston Patriots with the third pick in the first round of the AFL Draft during the same year.
Mason’s NFL career lasted 11 seasons, playing six of them with the Vikings. He currently ranks eighth in Minnesota history with 3,252 rushing yards.
Playing for the expansion Vikings, Mason only carried the ball 60 times in his rookie season for 226 yards. That was fifth-best on the team, right behind rookie quarterback Fran Tarkenton who rushed for 308 yards.
Over the next two years, Mason led the team in rushing as he averaged 752 yards per season and made the Pro Bowl both years.
Coached by Norm Van Brocklin, Mason and Minnesota only finished with a record above .500 once during his six seasons in purple and the team never made the playoffs.
7. Dalvin Cook (2017 – 2019)
- 29 games
- 457 carries
- 2,104 rushing yards
- 3,018 yards from scrimmage
- 19 touchdowns
From the very first running back drafted to one of the most recent, it is not surprising to find Dalvin Cook towards the back end of this ranking.
A second-round draft pick in 2017, Cook only played four games during his rookie season thanks to suffering a knee injury in Week 4 against the Detroit Lions. That number increased to 11 games in his second year to go with 615 rushing yards and 305 receiving yards.
Last season, Cook broke out. Playing in 14 games, he led the Vikings with 1,135 rushing yards and he was second behind only Stefon Diggs with 519 receiving yards.
Currently, with 2,104 rushing yards, Cook sits 16th in career rushing yards for Minnesota. With another 1,000-yard season, he easily moves into the top 10 and he could overtake Mason’s spot at No. 8—provided of course he and the Vikings reach an agreement on an extension.
6. Michael Bennett (2001 – 2003)
- 37 games
- 517 carries
- 2,425 rushing yards
- 3,134 yards from scrimmage
- 10 touchdowns
Michael Bennett joined the Vikings as a first-round draft pick in 2001. As a rookie, he led the team in rushing with 682 yards for a pass-oriented offense that included quarterback Daunte Culpepper and wide receivers Cris Carter and Randy Moss. The following year Carter would leave to play for the Miami Dolphins.
With the departure of Carter, Bennett played a bigger role in the offense in 2002. Just like his rookie season, Bennett led the team in rushing again with 1,296 yards on the ground. He also caught 37 passes for 351 receiving yards. It was by far the best performance of his career and it led to him being named to the Pro Bowl after the season, his only appearance from his 10 years in the league.
In 2003, injuries caused him to miss the first half of the season. Playing in only eight games, Bennett was limited to only 90 carries and 447 rushing yards.
With a career-rushing total of 3,174 yards for the Vikings, Bennett currently ranks ninth in franchise history.
5. Chester Taylor (2006 – 2008)
- 45 games
- 561 carries
- 2,459 rushing yards
- 3,134 yards from scrimmage
- 19 touchdowns
Chester Taylor is the only running back in this ranking that did not start his career with the Vikings. After playing four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, Taylor signed with Minnesota as a free agent and he promptly went on to have the best season in his career. He led the Vikings with 1,216 rushing yards—his only 1,000-yard season.
Unfortunately, for Taylor, his role as starting tailback lasted only one season in Minnesota as the team drafted Adrian Peterson the following year. After starting 15 games in 2006, that dropped to only eight in 2007.
A sixth-round draft pick by Baltimore in 2002, Taylor spent four seasons with the Vikings before finishing his career with one-year stints in Chicago and Arizona. His 2,797 rushing yards in a Minnesota uniform is currently 10th-most in franchise history.
4. Terry Allen (1991 – 1993)
- 47 games
- 641 carries
- 2,795 rushing yards
- 3,470 yards from scrimmage
- 26 touchdowns
The inclusion of Terry Allen in this ranking might be a bit controversial. A ninth-round draft pick in 1991, technically Allen missed his entire third season in 1993 after suffering an ACL injury leading up to the season.
On both sides of the injury, Allen started all 16 games for the Vikings and exceeded 1,000 yards rushing. Playing only three seasons with the Vikings, Allen’s 2,795 rushing yards place him 11th all-time in franchise history.
When he joined the Vikings in 1991, Allen was the backup to Herschel Walker and while starting only six games, he finished second on the team with 563 rushing yards to Walker’s 825 yards.
The following season Walker signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, and Allen established himself, leading Minnesota with 1,201 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns.
Without Allen playing in 1993, the Vikings run game suffered greatly with journeyman Barry Word leading the team with only 458 rushing yards. Upon his return in 1994, Allen picked up right where he left off, leading Minnesota in rushing, and finishing second in total yards from scrimmage with 1,179 yards.
Following the 1994 season, with Robert Smith ready to take over the starting running back position, the Vikings and Allen parted ways. Allen then signed with the Washington Redskins and he put together back-to-back 1,300-yards seasons while also leading the NFL in touchdowns with 21 in 1996.
Allen’s 47 games played was the highest total in the ranking.
3. Ted Brown (1979 – 1981)
- 46 games
- 623 carries
- 2,526 rushing yards
- 4,040 yards from scrimmage
- 19 touchdowns
The Vikings selected Teddy Brown with the 16th overall pick in the 1979 NFL Draft. Brown spent his entire career in Minnesota that spanned eight seasons. He finished with 4,546 rushing yards and 2,850 receiving yards.
The start of Brown’s career with the Vikings in 1979 coincides with Chuck Foreman’s final season with the team.
As a rookie, Brown shared the backfield with Foreman and Rickey Young and he finished second on the team with 551 rushing yards. The following season was the first of three straight years as the team’s leading rusher. Brown leads this ranking with 176 receptions over his first three seasons.
Averaging 4.1 yards per carry over his career, Brown was a steady and consistent contributor. His only 1,000-yard season came in 1981, his third year with the Vikings. His 4,546 rushing yards places him fifth on Minnesota’s career rushing list.
2. Chuck Foreman (1973 – 1975)
- 39 games
- 661 carries
- 2,648 rushing yards
- 4,287 yards from scrimmage
- 43 touchdowns
Chuck Foreman ranks third in career rushing yards for the Vikings with 5,887 yards. He played seven of his eight seasons in the NFL with Minnesota and 44.9 percent of those yards with the Vikings came in his first three seasons.
A first-round draft pick in 1973, Foreman made an immediate impact as a rookie, leading the team with 801 rushing yards and finishing second with 362 receiving yards as Minnesota finished the regular season with a 12-2 record on their way to a second Super Bowl loss.
A member of the Vikings Ring of Honor, Foreman was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first five seasons. Foreman was most effective in the open field where he made a lot of defenders look foolish in attempting to make a tackle.
An equally effective receiver as a runner, he averaged 1,429 total yards from scrimmage in his first three seasons. In this ranking, Foreman leads with 1,639 receiving yards, 17 receiving touchdowns, and 43 total touchdowns while he ranks second with 4,287 total yards from scrimmage.
His second season resulted in another trip to the Super Bowl, and another loss. While his rushing yards dropped slightly, his receptions and receiving yards increased as he led the team with 1,363 yards from scrimmage, rushing touchdowns with nine, and receiving touchdowns with six.
His best season came in 1975 when he rushed for 1,070 yards with 13 touchdowns and he led the Vikings and NFL with 73 receptions while scoring on another nine touchdown passes. Again, he led the team with 1,761 total yards from scrimmage. He was recognized for his efforts by being named a First-Team All-Pro.
Despite finishing with a 12-2 record, the season was cut short in the playoffs with the infamous and controversial Hail Mary play that resulted in a 17-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys at Metropolitan Stadium.
1. Adrian Peterson (2009 – 2011)
- 46 games
- 915 carries
- 4,484 rushing yards
- 5,313 yards from scrimmage
- 41 touchdowns
By now, it is obvious that Adrian Peterson would top the ranking. Selected seventh overall in the 2007 NFL Draft, Peterson made an immediate impact as a punishing runner.
In his rookie season, starting only nine games, he led the league with an average of 95.8 yards per game. He dramatically improved upon that during his second season as he averaged an incredible 110.0 yards per game while leading the NFL in rushing with 1,760 yards. In his third season, he again led the NFL, this time with 18 rushing touchdowns.
More effective as a runner than a receiver, 84.4 percent of his yards came on the ground. Peterson easily led the ranking in rushes, rushing yards, yards per attempt, rushing touchdowns, and yards from scrimmage. During his rookie season, he twice rushed for over 200 yards in a game, including an NFL-record 296 yards in a Week 8 matchup against the San Diego Chargers.
Peterson played 10 seasons with the Vikings and he led the team in rushing on eight of those years. He is the franchise leader in career rushing yards with 11,747 yards—4,929 yards more than Robert Smith who is second. He also is the franchise leader with 97 rushing touchdowns—45 more than Chuck Foreman.
As Peterson enters his 14th NFL season, he ranks fifth all-time with 14,216 career rushing yards.