Dalvin Cook

At 28 years old, Dalvin Cook has this physical status:

Dalvin James Cook (born August 10, 1995) is an American football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football at Florida State, where he finished his career as the school's all-time leading rusher.

Cook was drafted by the Vikings in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Personal life

Cook is the older brother of Buffalo Bills running back James Cook.

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High school career

Cook was born in Opa-locka, Florida, and he played for the Miami Central High School, the same as former Seminoles running back Devonta Freeman. Deandre Burnett, a basketball player, is brother to basketball player Deandre Burnett. Cook did not enter the football team until his sophomore year, fearing he had no chance to replace senior running back Devonta Freeman, who led Central to a Class 6A state championship in 2010. Cook was both a running back and defensive back under coach Telly Lockette. He carries carries with Joseph Yearby, his best friend, in his junior year. Yearby, the quarterback of the Wildcats, and Cook lined up at running back to face Cook on running backs. Cook rushed for a county-best 1,940 yards and 34 touchdowns on 177 attempts (11.0 yards per rush) and intercepted three passes on defense as a senior in 2013. Cook ran for 244 yards and three touchdowns in Central's Class 6A regional final victory over Palm Bay Heritage, as Yearby fractured his fibula in the first quarter of the game. Cook led his team to the Class 6A state championship in a 52–7 victory over Seffner Armwood, helping the Rockets win their third state championship in the last four seasons and become the first Dade team to advance to four straight state finals. Cook was named Mr. Florida Football by the Florida Dairy Farmers Association, becoming the third recipient of the award since its establishment (back in 1992) from Miami-Dade County, featuring former Miami Northwestern quarterback Jacory Harris and former Miami Norland running back Duke Johnson.

Cook finished his prep career with 4,267 passing yards and 64 touchdowns, while leading Miami Central to a 52-57 record. USA Today All-USA Football Team, 247Sports Second-Team All-American, and All-State Class 6A first-team were among his senior season awards. Cook was invited to play in the 2014 Under Armour All-America Game, where he rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown on just eight attempts for Team Nitro. On the Nike Campus, Cook participated in "The Opening," an all-star summer prospect camp.

Cook, a former track & field star, was one of the state's top sprinters. In the 200-meter dash at the 2013 Sam Burley Invitational, where he came in 13th, he set a personal record of 22.10 seconds. He appeared on the third leg of the Miami Central 4 100 m relay and 4 400 meters relay teams, helping them win both events in record time of 41.15 seconds and 3:17.58 minutes, respectively. He was clocked at 10.08 seconds (heavily wind-aided) in the 100-meter dash, but he would finish fifth in the finals in the third round.

Cook was rated as the second best all-purpose back in his class by Rivals.com. He had already taken the summer and night classes required to graduate high school early and enroll in the spring before signing with Florida State in January 2014. Cook started at Clemson University and then moved to University of Florida under new head coach Will Muschamp in the spring of 2013. However, the 5-star running back began to question his commitment after Florida's 4–8 season last year. Cook said he was "100 percent" committed to the University of Florida in every interview, despite officially visiting other colleges. After one of the workouts, he did the Gator Chomp on social media and posed for a snapshot with Florida commitments during the Under Armour All-America Game. Cook transferred to Florida State University on January 1, 2014.

College career

From 2014 to 2016, Cook attended and played college football at Florida State University, under head coach Jimbo Fisher.

In 2014, a true freshman with Karlos Williams and Mario Pender is a true freshman. He rushed 67 yards with only one touchdown in his first game against The Citadel. For the first time in his college career, he rushed for 100 yards against Syracuse, receiving 122 yards in less than 23 attempts with a touchdown. Cook was named MVP of the 2014 ACC Championship Game against Georgia Tech after finishing with 177 yards on 31 attempts and one rushing touchdown. He had 1,008 passing yards, eight touchdowns, 22 interceptions, and 203 receiving yards in the 2014 season.

Cook was suspended with battery after an incident outside a bar in July 2015. He was found not guilty and reinstated by Florida State the following month. With 156 passing yards and a rushing touchdown against Texas State, he started the season off well. He had 266 passing yards and three rushing touchdowns in the next game against South Florida. He had 222 rushing yards and two touchdowns against the Miami Hurricanes on October 10, as well as 47 touchdowns and a receiving touchdown to help the Seminoles to their 5–0 record. Cook set a new Warrick Dunn's single-season rushing yards record of 1,242. He had 183 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns in a year-long rivalry game against the Florida Gators. He finished the 2015 season with 1,691 rushing yards, 19 rushing touchdowns, 244 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown.

In a victory over Ole Miss, Cook started the 2016 season with 91 passing yards and 101 receiving yards. He had 267 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns against South Florida on September 24, along with 62 receiving yards. He had 140 passing yards and three rushing touchdowns in the next game against North Carolina, as well as six receptions for 106 yards. Cook set a new Warrick Dunn record of 3,959 yards in the first quarter of the team's match against Syracuse Orange on November 19, 2016. Cook started the game just 18 yards behind the record and finished with 225 passing yards and four touchdowns. He had 4,464 rushing yards in his career. Cook revealed that he would forego his senior season at Florida State in order to draft the 2017 NFL Draft, just a few hours after winning the Orange Bowl over Michigan.

Professional career

Cook was invited to the NFL Combine and completed all of the mandatory combine drills and positional drills. He was at Pro Day in Florida and completed the 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, 10-yard dash, and positional drills. Sports Illustrated and Pro Football Focus ranked him as the top running back in the draft, the second best running back by NFL media analyst Bucky Brooks, and third best running back by NFL DraftScout.com and NFL analyst Mike Mayock. Despite being one of the top running backs, off-the-field injuries, prior arrests, mistrust issues, fumbling complaints, and a history of shoulder injuries caused his stock to decline. Cook was expected to be selected in either the first or second rounds of the draft, according to NFL draft experts and analysts.

In the second round (41st overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings selected Cook. The Cincinnati Bengals traded the 41st overall pick to the Vikings for their second round draft pick (No. 1). (No. 78) and their fourth-round pick (No. 9) (129). He was the third running back in the draft behind Leonard Fournette (fourth overall) and Christian McCaffrey (eighth overall).

Cook set the Vikings' rookie rookie rushing record, beating Adrian Peterson for 127 yards on 22 attempts in his first NFL game against the New Orleans Saints. He had 27 attempts for 97 yards and a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3, along with five receptions for 72 yards. Cook left the game against the Detroit Lions in Week 4 with a definite knee injury. Cook had a torn ACL, and that his rookie season had come to an end. On October 5, 2017, he was officially put on injured reserve. Cook had 354 rushing yards in four games in his rookie year. Cook underwent successful reconstruction of his left ACL on October 9, 2017. Dr. James Andrews, an orthopaedic surgeon, said there was no further injury to the left knee in the 2018 season and there was no more to come.

Cook had 95 scrimmage yards in his first game back from injury in the 24-16 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, his first game back from injury. Cook sustained a hamstring injury in Week 2 and missed the Vikings' next four games. He had only modest success in the next three weeks after 89 yards on Week 9 returning to 89 yards in Week 9. In a Week 13 loss to the Patriots, he had 84 passing yards (32 on one play) and 8 receptions. In a 41-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins, Cook rushed for 136 yards and his only two running touchdowns, winning him NFC Offensive Player of the Week for the Week.

Cook finished the 2018 season with 615 passing yards, up more than his backup Latavius Murray despite having fewer carries and two touchdowns. He has also had 40 receptions for 305 yards and two touchdowns.

Cook rushed 21 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns in the Vikings' season-opener against the Atlanta Falcons, defeating the Falcons 28–12. Cook rushed for 154 yards against the Green Bay Packers in Week 2 during a 16-21 loss to the Vikings. Cook led the Vikings to a 75-yard touchdown run on Week 2 for 154 yards. He took the league lead in rushing yards with his appearance until Week 12, and was either first or second to Christian McCaffrey until Week 12. The Vikings defeated the Oakland Raiders 3 times for 110 yards and one touchdown, while Cook passed four passes for 33 yards in Week 3. Cook finished with 132 running yards and 86 receiving yards against the New York Giants in Week 5, bringing the total yards to 218. Cook led the Vikings to victory 42-31 after losing the league lead in rushing from McCaffrey during Week 7 against the Detroit Lions. Cook carried 23 times for 98 yards and a touchdown in the 19–9 victory, as the Washington Redskins' next game. Cook ran 26 times for 97 yards and a touchdown in Week 98 against the Dallas Cowboys, and seven passes for 86 yards. For his play, he was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week. Cook sustained a chest injury and would only have 117 rushing yards over the next four weeks (including a Week 12 bye), but he did have one touchdown in each of his three games of limited play over the time period. Cook was unable to participate in the Vikings' Week 16 game against the Packers on Monday Night Football due to his chest injury. The Vikings lost 23–10 without Cook. Cook finished with 1,135 passing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns to go along with 53 receptions for 519 receiving yards in 14 games during the 2019 season.

Cook rushed 28 times for 94 yards and two touchdowns against the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card Round, and three passes for 36 yards during the 26-20 overtime victory. Cook was ineffective in the divisional round against the San Francisco 49ers, only passing nine times for 18 yards as the Vikings lost 27–10. He was ranked 21st by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020.

Cook confirmed on June 8, 2020, that he will not engage in team-related activities until a "appropriable extension" is agreed upon. Cook's five-year, $63 million contract extension with the Vikings was signed on September 12, 2020.

In Week 1 of the 2020 season, Cook scored his first two rushing touchdowns of the season, defeating the Green Bay Packers 43-34. Cook completed with a career-high 181 rushing yards and a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans in Week 3 as the Vikings lost 30-30. In the 31–23 victory over the Houston Texans, he had 27 passes for 130 passing yards and two touchdowns. Cook finished the game with 89 yards from scramage and a touchdown before leaving the game due to an adductor strain. The Vikings lost the game 27–26 without Cook. Cook finished with 163 rushing yards, 63 receiving yards, and four total touchdowns against the Packers in Week 8 as the Vikings defeated the Packers 28-22. He became the first Vikings player to score four times in a single game since Ahmad Rashad did so against the San Francisco 49ers on September 2, 1979. Cook was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his appearance in Week 8. Cook rushed for a career-high 206 yards on 22 attempts and two rushing touchdowns in the 34-20 victory over the Detroit Lions. With Adrian Peterson and Chuck Foreman, only the third player in Vikings franchise history to reach 200 rushing yards in a single game. Cook was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his appearance in Week 9. Cook rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown in Week 11 against the Dallas Cowboys, and for 45 passing yards. Cook was named NFC Offensive Player of the Month for his November appearance. During the 27–24 overtime victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cook passed for 120 passing yards and 59 receiving yards. Cook lost by 159 yards against the Chicago Bears in Week 15 on Week 15.

Despite missing a game due to a groin injury and his father's unexpected death, Cook ended his season with a career-high 1,557 passing yards and one touchdown, plus 361 receiving yards, and one touchdown. He was selected to the Pro Bowl. He was ranked 20th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2021.

Cook finished with 22 carries for 131 yards in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals, a 34–33 loss. He had 29 attempts for 140 yards and a touchdown against Carolina in Week 6. Cook had 205 yards on 27 tackles along with two rushing touchdowns in Week 14, just 11 days after dislocating his arm, when the Vikings defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 28–36. Cook ended the 2021 season with 249 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns, as well as 34 receivers for 224 receiving yards. He received his third straight Pro Bowl nomination.

Cook revealed that he would be wearing the number 4 jersey beginning with the 2022 NFL season at the end of the 2021 season. He was ranked 31st by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2022.

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