Dalvin Cook has had a tremendous start to the new season for the Minnesota Vikings. The 25-year-old currently leads the league in rushing first downs and TDs, and as it turns out, Cook has been channeling a bit of Barry Sanders in his recent surge.

When asked what he's been doing differently these days, Cook admitted that Barry Sanders highlights have been on repeat on his iPad:

“I've got some Barry Sanders highlights on my iPad, and it's like the old Pitt Draw,” Dalvin Cook said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “Barry just stands there, they hand it to him, and he just shakes the whole team and runs just to go score, and that was pretty much every play he did that. And I watch it — not because it's Barry Sanders — I watch it because how he sets his runs up, how he develops things in his mind.

“And I kind of see it from a clear-eye view, and every time I watch his plays, I see something different from him, and how he sees things. I just want to be as explosive as he was. And I know that's not possible, but I'm going to try to match it as best that I can.”

That explains a lot. After all, if you're going to draw inspiration from a legendary running back, you could do much worse than the great Hall of Famer Barry Sanders.

Cook was at the very center of the Vikings' 32-23 victory against the Houston Texans on Sunday. The 5-foot-10 RB logged 130 yards for two touchdowns, as he led Minnesota to their first win of the season. There's no denying that Cook is already paying his team dividends for the big-money extension he signed last month.