Dalvin Cook is an American football running back who plays for the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL. He played his college football at Florida State and was drafted by the Steelers in the 2017 NFL Draft in the second round as the 41st overall pick.
Harris was born in Opa-Locka, Florida on 10th August 1995, and attended Miami Central High School. He was more interested in track athletics initially in high school, and only took his first steps in football during his sophomore year. And yet he took to the sport like a duck to water. In his senior year, playing as a running back and defensive back, he already had the best record in the country among high school running backs with 1940 yards, 37 touchdowns for 177 carries, and 3 pass interceptions in defense making him hot property amongst college football programs.
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After plenty of speculation, he eventually committed to Florida State to play for the Seminoles. In his freshman year, he was named MVP in the ACC Championship game against Georgia Tech. He finished his collegiate career with a record-breaking 4,464 rushing yards and won the Orange Bowl for the Seminoles, before declaring for the 2017 NFL Draft.
There were a few concerns about his prior track record with arrests and off-field issues, which saw him drop down in the draft pecking order, but the Minnesota Vikings placed their faith in him, drafting him in the 2nd round as the 41st overall pick.
He got off to a flyer for the Vikings setting the Vikings’ rookie record for rushing on his debut game against the New Orleans Saints- 127 yards with 22 carries. However, his rookie season met with an unfortunate premature end after he suffered a damaging ACL tear in week 4 against the Detroit Lions.
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He was back in 2018 to play the opening game against the San Francisco 49ers, but injury struck again in week 2 when his hamstring gave way and he another spell on the sidelines beckoned. He missed 4 games recovering from his injury. Cook eventually finished the 2018 season with 615 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He also caught 40 receptions for 305 yards and two touchdowns.
He enjoyed an injury-free 2019 season and that helped him string together impressive performances for the Vikings one after the other. He finished the season with 1,135 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns to go along with 53 receptions for 519 receiving yards in 14 games.
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His performances earned him a $63 million five-year contract extension with the Vikings in 2020, and he rewarded the team’s faith in him with his best season in the NFL. He became only the third player in Vikings franchise history to record 200 rushing yards in a single game in a Week 9 34–20 victory over the Detroit Lions and received 2 Offensive Player of the Week honours in the season. He finished the season with a career-high 1,557 rushing yards, 16 touchdowns, and 361 receiving yards with 1 touchdown. The season was to end with tragedy though, as he missed the last game of the season due to the unexpected death of his father.
His 2021 season saw injuries plague him again, albeit not as long-term as his initial ones. He dislocated his shoulder but was back in 11 days totalling 205 rushing yards on 27 carries along with 2 rushing touchdowns as the Vikings won 28–36 over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
At the end of the 2021 season, he announced that he shall be wearing the No 4 jersey from the 2022 season onwards.
