NFC North 2018 running back power rankings: Detroit Lions in the middle
By Ash Thompson
Minnesota Vikings running backs
The Vikings run game will be great for as long as Dalvin Cook is on the field. In four games as a rookie, Cook racked up 354 yards on the ground and another 90 in the air. He is likely the best running back in the division, with apologies to Jordan Howard. Availability, however, is the best ability. While the specific injury that ended Cook’s rookie season had nothing to do with his pre-existing shoulder problems, he has an extensive injury history for such a young player. He has played through the majority of his injuries, but running backs are exposed to more injury risk than many other positions. He is a difficult player to count on and that hurts the team’s ranking.
His backup is Latavius Murray. He is nowhere near as explosive a player as Cook, but he is a powerful short yardage weapon that can take some of the heavy lifting off of Cook’s fragile shoulders. Murray was hampered during the early part of the 2017 season recovering from his own offseason surgery. That forced the Vikings to lean heavily on Cook in situations where they may have preferred to put Murray on the field.
He has settled into his NFL career as a four-yard per carry big back that is capable of playing in all situations. He shines in short yardage and the red zone, with 20 rushing touchdowns in the last two seasons. Murray is athletic enough to be dangerous in space, and make tacklers miss by denying them a clean shot. He too has missed a lot of games in recent seasons or been limited if not sidelined.
Behind those two, the Vikings have a bunch of undrafted free agents and Mack Brown who they picked up on waivers from Washington last year. Brown is an interesting player, but with Murray on the field, there is not much of a role for him. Their undrafted free agent pickups are all players I like: Roc Thomas, Michael Boone, and Johnny Stanton. All of them were undrafted for a reason though, it’s not likely they will amount to anything, and they will certainly not do so in 2018. The team’s lack of depth kills them in my power rankings.