Vikings big question: Did Dalvin Cook finally find a passing game role in the Colts comeback?

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.

"That was aligning him in a formation where that's gonna be his play," O'Connell said. "And then, who's gonna be those guys spring and those blocks out in front of him? Whether it's, Adam out on the corner, K.J. in the slot, Christian Darrisaw, or [Ezra] Cleveland getting out in order to a pretty premier level right there, to see that type of execution in that moment, I want to see that from our whole team, the level of execution we had in that one play."

For the day, Cook was lined up wide a season-high eight times, according to Pro Football Focus. He spent another seven snaps as an in-line tight end, where the Vikings used him to chip pass rushers off the edge.

"Being able to split him out means we're in more than likely in empty formations," O'Connell said. "That requires those offensive linemen to get Kirk the time needed against a front that quite honestly has caused a lot of problems this year, whether you look at those edges with [Yannick Ngakoue and Kwity Paye] or 99 [DeForest Buckner]. So a lot of credit to our guys up front to sustain throughout that second half."

The question of whether the Vikings see a role for Cook that's worth bringing him back for 2023, when he'll be 28 and carry a $14.1 million cap figure, is probably best left for another day. The way they used him on Saturday, though, kept him involved in a game where they needed to throw for much of the second half.

It's the kind of role that could give the Vikings another weapon as they get ready for the playoffs.