Dalvin Cook is a serious contender in the 2020 MVP race
By Adam Patrick
Carrying the Minnesota Vikings to the playoffs could result in the running back being named this season’s NFL MVP.
During the last two weeks, Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook has been unstoppable. In the Vikings two games since their bye in Week 7, Cook has accumulated a total of 478 yards and six touchdowns.
On Sunday against the Detroit Lions, the Minnesota running back rushed for a career-high 206 yards, including a 70-yard run that he took to the house for a Vikings touchdown.
Cook has been a massive factor in the Vikings getting wins in each of their last two games and now the team is starting to think they can make a run at the playoffs despite their 3-5 record.
What are the current MVP odds for the Minnesota Vikings running back?
Following Sunday’s slate of matchups around the NFL, FanDuel has updated their MVP odds and Cook currently has the best odds of any running back in the league. After Week 9, the Minnesota running back currently has 80-1 odds to end the season as the NFL MVP.
There are 10 players who currently have better MVP odds than Cook right now and they are all quarterbacks. Leading the way is Russell Wilson followed by Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen, and Kyler Murray.
After Cook’s latest incredible performance on Sunday, myself and Dustin Baker discussed on the latest episode of The Viking Age Podcast how the talented running back is definitely deserving of being included in the MVP conversation at this point in the season.
Adrian Peterson is the last player in a Minnesota uniform to end a year as the NFL’s MVP when he won the award in 2012 after rushing for 2,097 yards. Peterson basically put the Vikings on his back that year and made sure they earned a spot in the playoffs.
Cook is doing something similar this season, but his competition for the MVP award will likely be much tougher since the NFL has turned into even more of a quarterback-centric league since 2012.
In order for Cook to end the year as the NFL MVP, he would have to continue putting up monster numbers each week and the Vikings would have to make the postseason. Even if he does these things though, he still probably won’t have the highest odds to be the league MVP for 2020.
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