MINNEAPOLIS -- On Friday morning, as the Minnesota Vikings ruminated on the possibility of trading up for Dalvin Cook, the plays that drew them to the Florida State running back were the same ones seared into Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher's mind.
There's the 70-yard touchdown against Clemson last season, when Cook exploded past the Florida State bench for one of his four scores against the national champions. "He runs a counter play, and he bounces outside," Fisher said. "[The] safety has it and he hits an angle down the sideline. It was right in front of us; I said, ‘Oh, that’ll be a nice 10-12 yard gain.’ He hit the corner and was gone, against really good people. That just shocked me."
Oh, and let's not forget about the 72-yarder against Miami the previous year. "It was a little option pitch," Fisher said. "He’s against the boundary, but he has the ability to accelerate and see it. There’s so many. There was a point in time that he had like 12 TDs and his average TD run was like 47 yards. So there was an abundance of them."
There was a dearth of them in Minnesota last year, with Adrian Peterson missing 13 games. But truth be told, there's been a shortage of explosive plays in the Vikings' offense for a while. They were tied for 18th in the league in plays of 20 yards or more last season, thanks to a running game that produced just six of them. But even the year before, when Peterson led the league in rushing yards and helped the team break 14 runs of 20 yards or more with his self-styled "famine, famine, feast" approach, the Vikings were 26th in the league in total plays of 20-plus yards.
His 51 rushes of 10 yards or more were the second-most in the ACC last season, and he averaged 13.5 yards after the catch, which was the most of any player in a Power 5 conference. And while he needs an offensive line that will create opportunities for him in the NFL, Cook also has some traits that the Vikings believe can make their line better.
"He has great balance, great vision. I think watching him catch the ball out of the backfield and the explosive plays he makes out of the backfield as a receiver are another threat," general manager Rick Spielman said. "I think Adrian, we had some good offensive lines, but Adrian really can help that. I remember when I was in Detroit watching Barry Sanders, just that caliber of running back and the success he had by his ability to set up blocks and to make quick cuts and to make things happen on their own. Coaches talk about, ‘Well, OK, we’re going to get to this level,’ but when you get to the second level, the safety is on you or the linebacker, you have the linebacker, which means you have to beat him one-on-one. So, I do believe that running backs can definitely make an offensive line better."
For all his electricity on the field, there were reasons Cook was still available to the Vikings at No. 41: He'd had three shoulder surgeries since high school, dealt with hamstring issues last year and had to answer for a criminal mischief charge in 2014. He also had an alleged incident outside a Tallahassee bar that got him suspended indefinitely from the team, although he was ultimately acquitted of misdemeanor charges.
"I think it's him just being sincere and honest," Spielman said. "I know the incidents that have been reported out there; he was never charged with the incident, I believe, in the bar. I think that was thrown out within a half-hour. I asked him very pointed questions, and I knew he was sincere and honest with how he answered everything."
Time will tell whether the Vikings vetted Cook properly. But if they did, they could have a player who adds a badly needed component to their offense.
Cook will get plenty of work during the Vikings' offseason program with Latavius Murray still recovering from ankle surgery, and he'll likely be asked to display his wares on the football field quickly.
The Vikings are counting on him to provide the same kinds of moments for them that he did for Fisher.
"I’ve coached a lot of great backs; Devonta Freeman, who’s an All-Pro in the league right now playing as well as anybody in the NFL," Fisher said. "Devonta was a phenomenal player. But Dalvin was more dynamic because of the home-run speed, and from that standpoint I haven’t coached against a back or coached a back that was so dynamic that every time he touched the ball, he could score a TD."
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