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Fantasy Football: Dalvin Cook impressing Minnesota Vikings coaches

By Alex Butler
Minnesota Vikings rookie running back Dalvin Cook. Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings/Twitter
Minnesota Vikings rookie running back Dalvin Cook. Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings/Twitter

May 27 (UPI) -- It's never a bad thing to make a great first impression, and Dalvin Cook is doing exactly that in Minnesota Vikings OTAs.

The rookie running back is eyeing the Vikings' starting running back job in a preseason battle with veteran Latavius Murray. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur told reporters Wednesday that Cook is "making good progress."

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"Well, he certainly caught our eye in the rookie stuff," Shurmur said Wednesday at OTAs. "Now that he's in with the vets, you can still see all the things that we saw. He's a very instinctive runner. He'll get his foot down and gets up the field."

One of the ways running backs can stay on the field is when they excel with multiple skillsets. Cook is already showing off his pass blocking ability and hands, making his case for both early and late down work.

"He's actually pretty instinctive when it comes to who to block in pass protection and he catches the ball extremely well," Shurmur said. "We're seeing all the same things that we saw from him in his college tape and in the rookie practices. He's making good progress."

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Coach Mike Zimmer, who is currently away from the team while recovering from an extensive history of eye surgeries, said in early May that it will "always be an open completion" in the Vikings' backfield.

Murray signed a three-year, $15 million deal with the Vikings in March, but has been hampered by offseason ankle surgery. He has been sitting out during OTAs. The 27-year-old made the Pro Bowl in 2015.

But just because the Vikings added players at the position through free agency and the 2017 NFL Draft doesn't mean you should count out the backs it already had on its roster, according to Jerrick McKinnon.

"Don't count me out,'' McKinnon told TwinCities.com. "That's always my goal ([o start].''

Cook told reporters during rookie camp that his goal is to find his role and just to "come in and contribute to the team anywhere possible and help the team win."

With Murray hobbled and Cook showing off his arsenal of skills in the backfield, this currently looks like Cook's job to lose. Once Murray returns, look for this to form into a committee, with the hot hand receiving the lion's share of the workload. Avoid any Vikings running back in the first four rounds of your fantasy football drafts, regardless of league format.

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