With Vikings running back Dalvin Cook entering the last year of his rookie contract, we find ourselves asking just how valuable the former second-round pick is.
Per Cynthia Frelund of NFL.com, Cook is worth 1.3 wins during a season. That doesn’t seem like much, but that ranks fifth among offensive players who aren’t quarterbacks in the NFL.
Here’s what Frelund wrote about Cook:
Cook scored 10 touchdowns on rushes outside the tackles in 2019, which tied for the most in the NFL with Derrick Henry. When I track Cook with computer vision and look at rushes when one or more defender had a square-hipped touch (a proxy for when a tackle could have occurred) over the past two seasons, he averaged nearly an additional 0.75 yards per rush after being touched, which ranks eighth among backs in that span. The Vikings’ reliance on play-action passing means Cook’s importance receives a boost in terms of win share, and with some questions in the passing game due to the departure of proven wideout Stefon Diggs, Cook’s impact could be felt more than ever.
With nine days until the start of the 2020 season, it seems unlikely Cook will receive a contract extension before the season — especially after the Vikings traded for expensive defensive end Yannick Ngakoue.
If Cook can replicate last season’s success, though, it will be almost impossible for the Vikings to let him go in free agency. Of course, that all depends on what Cook asks for.
