8. Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
In April, Cook promoted himself as the best running back in the NFL as he and the Vikings started talking about a contract extension. 2020 is the last year of Cook’s rookie deal, and the Florida State alum wants to be paid in the same range as the best in the business.
“The things I do coming out of the backfield, the things I do in between the tackles, I block, I pretty much do it all,” Cook said via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “I don’t have to come off the field. I think some guys just don’t do as much as I do, and I think that’s why I’m today’s [top] back.”
Before the 2019 season opener, Deion Jones said something about Dalvin Cook that Dalvin Cook didn't appreciate.
This was Dalvin Cook's response. pic.twitter.com/xqu6VahE6c
— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) July 26, 2020
Cook has never played a full 16-game season, and he had to work through shoulder issues in 2019. He also wore down as the season went along, averaging 5.3 yards per carry in the first eight games of the regular season, and 3.3 in the final eight. Cook’s postseason was an encapsulation thereof — he looked great in Minnesota’s wild-card win over the Saints, and was completely flummoxed by the 49ers’ excellent defense in the divisional round.
“It’s all a risk when you give any guy a contract in the league,” Cook concluded in April. “He could get hurt the next day in practice. So, it’s all a risk. But what if the guy doesn’t get hurt and he goes out there and helps contribute to the Super Bowl and he goes out there and balls out? … It’s all about what the person believes in, what the owners believe in, the GM believes in, and I firmly think the Vikings believe in me.”
Cook is right in that he possesses every attribute one would prefer in a franchise-level running back, but when asking for the kind of money he wants, the durability issue has to weigh on the minds of the Vikings’ decision-makers.