The Vikings Best Player, Per NFL Network’s ‘Top 100’

Dustin Baker |

Aug 22, 2021

Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports

Each summer, NFL Network unveils the 100 best players in the NFL, an event renowned for its authority on the subject.

Power rankings of players are largely opinion-oriented, so why is this particular batch more believable than others?

NFL players vote to establish the one-through-hundred order. The rankings are player-driven, fueling the authenticity of the pecking order. If players feel a certain way, then consider that gospel — more so than a talking head who has never played NFL football.

The best player on the Minnesota Vikings in 2021 per the NFL Top 100 rankings is Dalvin Cook. He checked in at #20 for the 2021 edition.

Image courtesy of Vikings.com’

Cook was the Vikings MVP in 2020, a season beset by hardship. Minnesota was without the following men for significant portions of time: Danielle Hunter, Anthony Barr, Michael Pierce, Mike Hughes, and Eric Kendricks.

It was on the back of Cook that the Vikings uplifted from a dismal 1-5 start. Cook was briefly mentioned as an MVP candidate as he led the NFL in rushing yards and touchdowns at the time. He even won the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Month award in November.

And that cascade wasn’t necessarily limited to that month — Cook has been performing as one of the best in the business for the last two seasons. Out of the gate from Florida State, 2017 and 2018, Cook missed 53% of all Vikings game due to injuries. The bulk of that mark was from his rookie season when he tore his ACL. He gained an “injury-prone” distinction, and that propelled many Vikings fans to decry his eligibility for a contract extension. Ultimately, the Vikings brass — chiefly general manager Rick Spielman — disagreed, paying Cook a robust five-year, $63 million deal with $28 million in guaranteed money.

Cook will be a free agent in 2026.

That sum of dollars seems quite fair now. Indeed, Cook had injury hardships during his freshman and sophomore campaigns, but his last two seasons have been dazzling. He leads all NFL players in yards from scrimmage per game inside the last two seasons.

Yards From Scrimmage Per Game,
Last Two Seasons:
(min. 20 Games)

1. Dalvin Cook (127.6)
2. Derrick Henry (125.4)
3. Nick Chubb (106.8)
4. Alvin Kamara (104.1)
5. Aaron Jones (100.6)
6. Ezekiel Elliott (99.8)
7. Austin Ekeler (95.5)
8. Michael Thomas (93.7)

— Dustin Baker (@DustBaker) April 12, 2021

Cook carves up the endzone, too. No other player in the industry has more games with at least one touchdown scored than Cook since 2019. Consistency is a signature.

Most Games w/at Least 1 TD,
Last Two Seasons:

Dalvin Cook (22)
Derrick Henry (21)
Aaron Jones (19)
A.J. Brown (17)
Todd Gurley (17)
Tyreek Hill (17)

— Dustin Baker (@DustBaker) April 11, 2021

The Vikings halfback wasn’t the only Minnesota player to earn NFL Top 100 recognition. Justin Jefferson, Eric Kendricks, and Adam Thielen were all voted by fellow players.

Four #Vikings made the player-voted #NFLTop100:

Dalvin Cook — No. 20
Justin Jefferson — No. 53
Eric Kendricks — No. 70
Adam Thielen — No. 80

Ranked in 2020 but not this year: Danielle Hunter, Kirk Cousins, and Harrison Smith.

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) August 22, 2021

At age 26, Cook has a few more seasons on the docket in his peak physical prime. Many tailbacks of Cook’s caliber experience a downward turn around age 28, so Cook, in theory, should have three full seasons on tap of upper-echelon production. After all, Cook has accounted for 29.4% of all Vikings touchdowns since the start of 2019.

At #20 on the NFL Network list, these are the players in Cook’s reaching distance:

15. Tyreek Hill (WR, KC)
16. Myles Garrett (EDGE, CLE)
17. Xavien Howard (CB, MIA)
18. Deshaun Watson (QB, HOU)
19. Budda Baker (FS, ARI
20. Dalvin Cook (RB, MIN)
21. Fred Warner (LB, SF)
22. D.K. Metcalf (WR, SEA)
23. Khalil Mack (EDGE, CHI)
24. Lamar Jackson (QB, BAL)
25. Bobby Wagner (LB, SEA)