Dalvin Cook’s 2020 should be considered one of the best in team history
Joe Johnson
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I know. I just wrote an article stating that analytics aren’t the end all for online debates where people cherry-pick stats and post them like it’s some mic drop moment. But despite that, here I am posting a single stat and doing my best to look cool while dropping my headset microphone softly as to not require another $20 purchase from a website that got me listed on some FBI database.
But some stats actually do stand alone, it’s when you start to combine multiple stats and somehow ignore that the combination of those stats is better than someone else’s stats?
Like this:
Really?
Anyway, I already covered this here:
The Cook stat in question is the yard after contact one. Cook is second in the NFL following only Derrick Henry, who is the definition of a workhorse. Then, expanding beyond that I started to realize that Dalvin’s 2020 is one of the best seasons we’ve seen from a running back in team history.
By combining multiple stats… Ugh.
Cook deserves a lot of credit for making something out of nothing, but, he also deserves credit for what he’s done compared to what is considered the gold standard of single seasons by a Vikings running back. Adrian Peterson’s 2012.
That season? Let’s allow our friends at Bleacher Report explain:
“Adrian Peterson’s 2012 season would be amazing even if it didn’t take place less than a year after he tore his ACL. The MVP candidate ran for a career-high 2,097 yards on 348 carries in his sixth season with the Minnesota Vikings—a career-high 6.0 yards per attempt.”
Right now, Dalvin has already scored more touchdowns than 2012 Peterson, as BR explains:
“He finished with 12 rushing touchdowns for the fourth time in his career, extending his double-digit touchdown season count to six.”
Right now, Cook is on pace for 336 carries, 1,664 yards (a 4.95 yards per carry average), and 17 touchdowns. The kicker? In 2012, AP had (again according to BR):
“Adrian Peterson ran for 1,019 yards after contact—more than all but the sum total of 14 other NFL rushers’ full seasons. “
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1472469-summarizing-adrian-petersons-amazing-2012-season
Cook is on pace for 1,152 yards after contact this season compared to AP’s 1,019. That may not be surprising for those who have seen Cook will his way into the end-zone or when he’s picked up first down after first down when the line has collapsed.
But considering what we think about AP’s 2012 around these parts? It might be time to crown a new champion.