Dalvin Cook is a running back for the New York Jets, and played his college football at Florida State University. A native of West Little River, Florida, Cook attended Miami Central High school, but didn’t begin playing football there until his sophomore year. During his first season of high school football, Cook played backup to senior running back Devonta Freeman, who would also go on to play at Florida State. Cook rushed for 4,267 yards and 64 touchdowns during his time at Miami Central High School, and was also one of the top sprinters in Florida. He was a a five-star recruit and enrolled at Florida State in 2014, where he was twice named First-team All-American and First-team All-ACC over three seasons. Cook rushed for 687-4464-46, all totaled in college, while also posting a receiving line of 79-935-2. Cook declared for the 2017 NFL Draft, and the Vikings picked him with the 41st overall pick. He was the third back off the board in the Draft, after Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey.
Cook’s NFL career got off to a hot start when he set the Vikings’ rookie debut rushing record with 127 yards. He went on to have a strong first three weeks in the league before a Week 4 game against the Lions ended when he suffered a torn ACL, thus ending his season. He would see only 10 games in 2018, when he finished with a rushing line of 133-615-2 due to multiple injuries. He played in 13 or more games, however, each of the following three seasons.
Cook has had trouble shedding the “injury-prone” label, but when healthy, he's one of the league’s best backs. He rushed for 1,000-plus yards in three straight seasons, and totaled 29 rushing touchdowns in 2019 and 2020 before rushing for just six scores in 2021. In 2021, he posted a rushing line of 249-1159-6, missing two games with an ankle sprain and one game with a torn labrum and dislocated shoulder. The Vikings relied heavily on Cook when he was healthy. He saw the most snaps of any back in the league in 2021, and finished the year with a 70.5-percent Snap Share to go along with a 79.7-percent Opportunity Share. Cook ranked No. 11 in Evaded Tackles (73), and was No. 18 in Yards Created (623) while finishing second with 21 Breakaway Runs. Always proficient as a pass-catcher, he was also No. 20 in Routes Run (221) with an 11.7-percent Target Share, and finished the season with 30 receptions for 224 yards.
Cook entered his age 26 season in 2022 and had another productive season, finishing with over 1,100 rushing yards and 10 total touchdowns. The New York Jets came calling in free agency and signed Cook to a one-year deal. He will work in a committee with Breece Hall, who is recovering from a knee injury suffered in 2022. Look for Dalvin to continue to produce RB1 numbers, but he likely will be sharing more work than he has in previous seasons.
