Vikings Territory: Familiar Face Tapped As Vikings Projected Team MVP For 2021

Press release from Vikings Territory:

July 3, 2021

NFL.com projected a team MVP for each team heading into 2021 on Thursday in an article by Dan Hanzus.

No such surprise followed the Minnesota Vikings — except for the crowd that foresees Justin Jefferson as the team MVP — as Dalvin Cook took home the projected MVP.

“You cannot tackle Dalvin Cook. The Vikings star has averaged 3.1 yards after contact per carry over his NFL career, per PFF. That’s Hall of Fame level of elusiveness for the 25-year-old, who piled up huge numbers in 2020 behind an offensive line that struggled to create running lanes for its star running back. New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak knows it’s Cook, not Kirk Cousins, who acts as the straw that stirs the drink for the Vikings’ offense, and a 400-touch season is not out of the question for Cook in the league’s first 17-game season. If his body holds up, Cook could produce yards and touchdowns at a level no other running back will match in 2021.”

Side-note fact: The only two running backs to exit the 2020 season without injury while playing all 16 games were Derrick Henry and Devin Singletary.

Cook, who will turn 26 years old in August, executed the best season of his career in 2020 — a season for the Vikings that was otherwise underwhelming. Minnesota started the campaign with a 1-5 record, displaying obvious maladies early on likely because injuries tormented the defense. After the putrid start, the Vikings climbed on Cook’s back, locking in a 6-4 finish to the season. Cook was even briefly mentioned as an MVP candidate for a week or two, but that award was ultimately snagged by Aaron Rodgers in, what might have been, his final NFL season.

And Cook should have a more reliable bunch up front harvesting daylight. The Vikings drafted Christian Darrisaw and Wyatt Davis in April, signaling a shift in philosophy toward size over agility. Minnesota offensive coordinators tend to embrace a zone-blocking scheme — and probably still will — but Darrisaw and Davis are larger men more akin to traditional linemen, not the athletism-over-girth appetite usually fawned over by the Vikings.

This press release was produced by Vikings Territory. The views expressed here are the author’s own.