Dalvin Cook’s Agent Takes Shot at Vikings Play-Calling
The Minnesota Vikings may be at a crossroads with RB Dalvin Cook this offseason. The soon-to-be 28-year-old running back is set to carry a $14.1 million cap hit in 2023, and he’s already reportedly been unwilling to lower that number. Now, it appears that Cook’s agent has made his voice heard regarding the veteran running back’s situation via his Instagram account.
In the since-deleted Instagram story, Cook’s agent, Zac Hiller, posted a video of Cook highlights via the official Vikings account with the caption, “Now just picture they actually knew how to call run plays too!”
This isn’t the first time that Hiller has been vocal regarding the Vikings play-calling. Back in 2021, the agent had some spicy commentary regarding some red zone decisions from Minnesota’s offense.
The above sequence of tweets came during Week 9 when Minnesota took on the Los Angeles Chargers. During the second quarter, the Vikings found themselves in a goal-to-go situation from the Chargers 1-yard-line and rather than run the ball, Minnesota opted for passing the ball twice. Kirk Cousins threw an incompletion in Justin Jefferson’s direction, and then a holding call on a completion to C.J. Ham for no gain backed the Vikings up 10 yards.
The Vikings eventually had Greg Joseph kick a 30-yard field goal. Of course, Minnesota ended up winning that game by a score of 27-20, but had they lost, that red zone sequence would have been under much more scrutiny.
Nevertheless, in 2022, Cook had one of his less efficient seasons. He once again surpassed 1000 yards, but it came on the worst yards per carry average of his career at 4.4. Since 2020, this number has steadily decreased from 5.0 in that season, to 4.7 in 2021, and now 4.4 in 2022.
Could there be some merit to the idea that there should be more balance in terms of play-calling? Perhaps. The Vikings ranked 27th in rush attempts during the 2022 season compared to 3rd in pass attempts. Cook’s 264 carries may have been the second-most of his career, but his 15.5 carries per game were the second-fewest, ahead of only his 2018 season.
Granted, had Cook been more productive on a consistent basis, he may have earned more touches this past season, but it’s also difficult to get in a rhythm with limited opportunities.
Cook also underwent shoulder surgery earlier this offseason to repair a broken shoulder that was suffered during 2019. In the aftermath of that surgery, Hiller was also very vocal about Cook, being quoted as saying, “Dalvin has been absolutely dominant, and we cannot wait until September.”
In all, there is a very real possibility of the Vikings parting ways with Cook this offseason. This social media post likely is just part of the campaign to get the veteran RB one more lucrative contract if that scenario plays out.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.