Forum The Longship Clocking-in @ #6? Your new, rookie rb - Mr Dalvin...

Clocking-in @ #6? Your new, rookie rb - Mr Dalvin Cook...

purplefaithful
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The 17 most important Vikings in 2017: No. 6, RB Dalvin Cook
To count down the days until Vikings rookies, quarterbacks and select veterans report to Mankato on July 23, we will reveal our ranking of the 17 most important Vikings players heading into the 2017 season. Look for the next player on our list every weekday morning at Access Vikings.
This list, created by Matt Vensel and Andrew Krammer, is not a ranking of the best players on the team, though sheer talent is obviously an essential factor. It is a ranking of the players whose upcoming season will have the biggest impact on the franchise, whether it’s in 2017 or beyond.

Coming in at No. 6 on our list is running back Dalvin Cook.
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Sam Bradford is an impressive all-around athlete. In addition to being a pretty good quarterback, Bradford was an AAU basketball teammate of Blake Griffin, was a peewee hockey standout and is a scratch golfer.
He would not, however, be someone you’d fear in the 100-yard dash.
Yet, when you pull up Pro Football Reference and look at the longest runs for the Vikings last season, their running backs only mustered three that gained more than Bradford’s 24-yard scramble in Week 17.
Coveting explosive plays on offense, the Vikings traded up in the second round to draft Dalvin Cook, a two-time All-American who broke loose for a run of 50 or more yards 10 times during his Florida State career.
Those wheels turned heads on the second day of last month’s three-day minicamp, when Cook got loose down the right sideline and could not be caught by cornerback Xavier Rhodes, who runs a 4.4 40-yard dash.
Of course, the Vikings saw more in Cook than simply speed. They were willing to take a chance on Cook, who fell out of the first round due to character concerns, in part because they feel he can be a more versatile backfield weapon than future Hall-of-Fame castoff Adrian Peterson.
Cook can run out of the shotgun, which is a requirement in today’s NFL. He is a legitimate receiving threat out of the backfield, something that despite his immense physical gifts Peterson somehow was never able to become here. And they hope that with coaching Cook can be trusted in pass protection, enabling him to become a true every-down back...
http://www.startribune.com/the-17-most-important-vikings-in-2017-no-6-rb-dalvin-cook/434503023/

Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger! 

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#1 · Jul 16, 12:56 PM
DE
Joined Apr 2026
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Hmmmm...

Ahead of XR? Dirty Harry?

I think not...

The Star Tribune’s ranking of the 17 most important Vikings in 2017:
6. Dalvin Cook, RB
7. Xavier Rhodes, CB
8. Stefon Diggs, WR
9. Harrison Smith, S
10. Laquon Treadwell, WR
11. Trae Waynes, CB
12. Linval Joseph, NT
13. Teddy Bridgewater, QB
14. Everson Griffen, DE
15. Eric Kendricks, MLB
16. Pat Elflein, C/G
17. Latavius Murray, RB 

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#2 · Jul 16, 12:57 PM
DE
Joined Apr 2026
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Yeah, this series was poorly arranged...Not well thought out...

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#3 · Jul 16, 1:01 PM
DE
Joined Apr 2026
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@"BarrNone55" said: Yeah, this series was poorly arranged...Not well thought out...
#2 Reiff? #1 Sam?
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#4 · Jul 16, 1:06 PM
DE
Joined Apr 2026
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@"purplefaithful" said:
@"BarrNone55" said: Yeah, this series was poorly arranged...Not well thought out...
#2 Reiff? #1 Sam?



You can definitely make a case for that...the QB and the guy most responsible for keeping him upright...after that, the guy most likely to make your opponent's QB uncomfortable... 

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#5 · Jul 16, 1:11 PM
DE
Joined Apr 2026
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@"BarrNone55" said:
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"BarrNone55" said: Yeah, this series was poorly arranged...Not well thought out...
#2 Reiff? #1 Sam?



You can definitely make a case for that...the QB and the guy most responsible for keeping him upright...after that, the guy most likely to make your opponent's QB uncomfortable... 


AGreed,

QB
LT 
RDE

Cornerstones of an /NFL Franchise...

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#6 · Jul 16, 6:06 PM
DE
Joined Apr 2026
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@"purplefaithful" said: Hmmmm...

Ahead of XR? Dirty Harry?

I think not...

The Star Tribune’s ranking of the 17 most important Vikings in 2017:
6. Dalvin Cook, RB
7. Xavier Rhodes, CB
8. Stefon Diggs, WR
9. Harrison Smith, S
10. Laquon Treadwell, WR
11. Trae Waynes, CB
12. Linval Joseph, NT
13. Teddy Bridgewater, QB
14. Everson Griffen, DE
15. Eric Kendricks, MLB
16. Pat Elflein, C/G
17. Latavius Murray, RB 



Cook has the potential to be a game changer on offense and we don't really have one right now.  Diggs and Thielen are good WRs, but neither is a big TD producer. 

I wouldn't necessarily rank the players like this either...  but you could make a case that if Harrison or Rhodes missed some time (like they did last season), our defense has enough depth and playmakers to still be pretty damn good.

You can't say the same about our offense...  and if Cook is as good as I think he will be...  he has a chance to make this a pretty explosive offense.

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#7 · Jul 16, 6:15 PM
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Forum The Longship Clocking-in @ #6? Your new, rookie rb - Mr Dalvin...

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