In offseason workouts this spring, the Vikings experimented with a new role for running back Dalvin Cook, lining him up out wide and in the slot frequently enough to suggest his sixth season in Minnesota would look different from any of his first five.
The Vikings ran their offense through Cook, as often as he was on the field, for most of his five years under former coach Mike Zimmer. That was especially true from 2019-21, when the Vikings built their offense around Gary Kubiak's wide zone scheme that put Kirk Cousins under center and frequently had Cook 8 yards deep in the backfield. In those three seasons, Cook logged 23 games of 20 carries or more, which led to him getting a five-year, $63 million contract from the Vikings the day before the 2020 season.
Cook has carried more than 20 times only five times this year; according to data from NFL Fast R, the Vikings are throwing roughly 56% of the time in neutral game situations this year, up from 48% in their final three years under Zimmer.
When they have leaned on Cook in their mid-zone running scheme, he's found running room tough to come by. He's had only 10 runs of 15 yards or more this season (down from 19 last year), and according to Pro Football Focus, he's averaging a career-high 3.24 yards after contact this year. A week ago, Cook gained just 23 yards on 15 carries while running behind a Vikings line missing two starters. His fateful fumble from the Lions' 3, on a play where the Vikings intended for him to throw a jump pass to Johnny Mundt, came after the Lions quickly broke through the line of scrimmage.
On Saturday, though, Cook ripped off a 40-yard run in the first quarter (before his fumble gave the Colts the ball) and finished with 95 yards on 17 carries. Perhaps more importantly, he assumed the role in the Vikings' passing game that coach Kevin O'Connell seemed to have in mind for him all along.
Of the four passes Cook caught for 95 yards in the Vikings' win, just two came with him in the backfield. His first catch of the day went for 12 yards on what O'Connell called one of the Vikings' best-executed screens in a while, and he caught a 6-yard swing pass out of a two-back set in overtime. But on his two other catches — a 13-yard gain early in the fourth quarter and his 64-yard touchdown that helped the Vikings tie the game with 2:28 left in regulation — Cook was lined up outside the numbers.
"First and foremost, he can catch the football," O'Connell said. "He's dynamic enough to understand the details of route-running and his abilities show up and the rhythm and timing for Kirk. And then once he gets the ball in his hands, there's space and there's ability to make something after the catch. He's a dynamic guy with the football in his hands. We knew after that early hiccup of putting the ball on the ground, [he] was going to be great the rest of the day with that ball security. So I think it's his ability to just impact the game. He's one of our five eligibles that we want to have come to life every time we drop back."
On the 13-yarder, the Vikings ran him on a slant behind vertical routes from Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn that cleared space underneath safety Julian Blackmon. And on the touchdown, Cook again lined up wide of Thielen and Osborn, as the Vikings set up a screen with the two receivers, along with tackle Christian Darrisaw and left guard Ezra Cleveland, as blockers.
