Interesting take on Cook and RB position today...

[purplefaithful]

Kevin O'Connell is expected to discard star running back Dalvin Cook, moving the Vikings closer to the blueprint of O'Connell's previous employer, Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams.McVay became a young head coach in 2017. Like O'Connell with the Vikings, McVay had immediate regular-season success, debuting with an 11-5 record. Like O'Connell, McVay's first team lost to an unimpressive playoff opponent, Atlanta.
In McVay's second season, he built his offense around star running back Todd Gurley. The Rams went 13-3 and made it to the Super Bowl, where Gurley's injuries limited their offense and led to a 13-3 loss to Bill Belichick and the Patriots.
Gurley would play for the Rams just one more season, as injuries robbed him of the explosiveness that made him special. Wary of relying on a running back or a running game, McVay began building the passing offense that would produce a Super Bowl title after the 2021 season.
(McVay also hired a coordinator from the Phillips family. Wade was his defensive coordinator for his first Super Bowl appearance; O'Connell hired Wes Phillips, Wade's son, as his offensive coordinator.) 
McVay drafted running back Cam Akers in the second round in 2020. He won the Super Bowl, though, with an inexpensive running back rotation, and a three-receiver set that highlighted a superstar, Cooper Kupp.
The Vikings have their star receiver in Justin Jefferson. Despite having one of the worst defenses in the league, O'Connell pushed for the Vikings to select a receiver in the first round in this April's draft. Jordan Addison, K.J. Osborn and tight end T.J. Hockenson will punish those who overplay Jefferson.
The Vikings are about to adopt an inexpensive running back rotation. Alexander Mattison will be the lead back, with Kene Nwangwu, Ty Chandler and seventh-round draft pick DeWayne McBride competing for snaps.
Limiting investments at the running back position in a salary-cap league allows more to be spent at other positions, and most other positions are more important than running back.
Mattison is a better pass blocker than Cook, and if O'Connell's goal is to run the best possible passing offense while getting enough rushing yards to keep defenses honest, pass-blocking skills will be vital.
Cook has begun to show signs of wear. He rushed for 111.2 yards per game in 2020, then 89.2 in 2021 and just 69.0 last year. To his credit, he played in all 18 games, and he made game-changing plays against Washington, Miami, Buffalo and Indianapolis, but a speed back can't afford to lose a step.
Jefferson's brilliance and the Vikings' ability to win close games in 2022 obscured the fact that Cook and veteran receiver Adam Thielen were not as productive as they should have been.
NFL teams have discovered that they can win without a star running back. The only championship-caliber team that is heavily invested in its top running back is San Francisco, which traded for Christian McCaffrey last year. The 49ers could afford to do so because they aren't spending much at quarterback and might have the best overall roster in the NFL.
The Chiefs spent a first-round draft pick on Clyde Edwards-Helaire in 2020. They shouldn't have. They won a Super Bowl the year before they drafted him. They won the Super Bowl last year with him not playing in the postseason. He has rushed for 49.2 yards per regular-season game during his career, a total many teams reach by handing the ball to a low-round draft pick or undrafted free agent.
The leading rusher in the Super Bowl for the past four champions: seventh-round pick Isiah Pacheco (Chiefs); second-round pick Akers (Rams), who rushed 13 times for 21 yards; Leonard Fournette, signed by the Buccaneers after the Jaguars released him; Damien Williams (Chiefs), an undrafted free agent.
The Vikings are moving in the right direction by discarding Cook, and that path was charted by O'Connell's old boss.
https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-vikings-dalvin-cook-discard-kevin-oconnell-sean-mcvay-justin-jefferson-jim-souhan/600279968/

[Guest]

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/...wxXPmf40JQ&s=19

[Guest]

I think they are trying to trade him, hence the mini-holdup. I get it.

[Guest]

The unbiased take from Sconnie...
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Report: Minnesota Vikings Squander Chance At Huge Return For Star Running Back (NFL News)



The Minnesota Vikings are in NFL Hell and appear to have blown one building block to get themselves out of it. Per a report Saturday by ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, the Vikings are expected to cut running back Dalvin Cook shortly.

Early this offseason, rumors came out that Cook wasn’t expected to be back with the Vikings for the 2023 season. The team has to juggle its cap space with quarterback Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson needing new contracts soon. The Vikings are expected to decide on Cook’s fate soon, as the team can save some cap space for this season now that the Jun 1 deadline has passed.
The Minnesota Vikings’ best chance for a trade was before the draftDov Kleiman with Bro Bible wrote on Cook’s prospects this offseason. He pointed out, Via ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler’s report, that the Vikings are still hoping to trade Cook. However, multiple teams are waiting for Cook to be released instead of aggressively pursuing the 27-year-old running back in a trade with Minnesota. Kleiman wrote that the Vikings’ best chance to trade Cook was before the 2023 NFL Draft in April:

“The uncertainty surrounding Cook’s future with the Vikings was highlighted when the team’s General Manager, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, remained noncommittal about Cook’s status just a few weeks before the draft. This lack of commitment fueled speculation that the team might be considering parting ways with their star running back.
Had the Vikings decided to trade Cook, it was widely believed that a deal would have likely materialized prior to the draft. However, as the draft came and went without any movement, it seems increasingly possible that the Vikings may ultimately opt to cut him from the roster.”

Getting nothing in return for Dalvin Cook hurts the VikingsThe Vikings’ front office will come under question if they have to cut Cook. They would have ultimately chosen to save about $3.1 million in dead cap space this season rather than agree to receive draft capital to help replace a major talent on their roster.
One would have to think Cook’s pre-draft trade value, estimated to be around a fourth-round pick, would have been better than letting him walk to save $3.1 in dead space. The Vikings NFC North rival, the Chicago Bears, were able to take running back Roschon Johnson in the fourth round. He’s expected to be a starter for the Bears by the end of the season.
The Vikings didn’t necessarily need to draft a running back with Alexander Mattison on the roster. But the Vikings missed an opportunity to find a contributor at another position of need this spring if, indeed, they let Cook walk in June.
https://wisportsheroics.com/nfl-news-minnesota-vikings-dalvin-cook-release/

[Guest]

Wisportsheroics?? lol.....seems like site that we'd get a link from savannah or waterboy from. 

[Guest]

[Guest]

I read that article about modeling the Rams and the whole time I'm thinking, hey, we sure that's the right team to model? 

I do like how Kwesi is shifting payroll from lower impact positions into higher impact positions. 

[Guest]

@StickyBun said:
I think they are trying to trade him, hence the mini-holdup. I get it.

He'd be released by now if there weren't ongoing trade negotiations.

Sounds like the Bills, Dolphins, Broncos and now the Eagles appear to be interested. I'm not expecting more than a 5th, given his contract, but with those teams competing, maybe the Vikings can squeeze a 4th out of this. 

Right now the Vikings don't have a 3rd, but they have two 4ths and two 5ths. I think it's pretty likely the Vikings go after their QBOTF in the '24 draft, so these extra picks will come in handy. Might even be worth eating some of Cook's salary to get the higher pick. 

[Guest]

They squandered a chance but it wasn't going to be a "huge" return in any scenario.  We don't even know if there was any team out there willing to trade for him.  But why they didn't just designate him for a post June 1 cut back in the spring is a mystery.  What are they trying to accomplish?  

[Guest]

@MaroonBells said:

@StickyBun said:
I think they are trying to trade him, hence the mini-holdup. I get it.

Right now the Vikings don't have a 3rd, but they have two 4ths and two 5ths. I think it's pretty likely the Vikings go after their QBOTF in the '24 draft, so these extra picks will come in handy. Might even be worth eating some of Cook's salary to get the higher pick. 

I think they have to, 100%.