Running backs have had a very tough time earning what they feel is their ‘fair, market value’ for a very long time, yet the idea of holding out has seemingly become more and more prevalent over the past few seasons. With players feeling as though they hold more leverage now in negotiations with teams, the likes of Leveon Bell, Ezekiel Elliott, Melvin Gordon III, and now Dalvin Cook of the Minnesota Vikings are taking the route of not coming to workouts, training camps, or even regular-season games.
Bell ended up sitting out the entire season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, letting backup running back James Connor prove his worth and ultimately make the decision to not pay the former Michigan State Spartan a very easy one, due to the emergence of Connor in his first true batch of playing time.
Elliott was able to coax six years and $90 million out of the Dallas Cowboys last offseason, agreeing to the new deal four days before their regular season started up. The former Ohio State Buckeye is not locked into a deal with the Cowboys until 2026.
Gordon sat out, much like Bell did, for a part of the season, but unlike Bell, he ended up coming back after Week 4 to join the Chargers and help inject a little life into their running game. Another similar element that both Gordon and Bell share here is that their backups actually ended up putting up big-time numbers in the absence of the stars, as Austin Ekeler broke out of his shell and helped make the decision to extend him after the season ended and not resign Gordon a very easy one.
For Cook’s case, he has a lot riding against him in his fight to earn a new deal that he feels includes correct compensation, which, according to reports, is the same kind of money that Carolina Panthers running back and offensive juggernaut Christian McCaffrey was just extended for. McCaffrey just signed a four-year deal in April worth $64 million, including just over $38 million guaranteed, and while Cook is a huge cog in what keeps the Vikings’ offense flowing, he is not all that close in terms of the level of sheer dominance that McCaffrey is on.
McCaffrey’s receiving skills are a much bigger facet of not only his game, but also the team’s offensive gameplan, and while Cook has displayed his receiving chops in screens and such, his impact in the passing game is not nearly as important as the kind that CMC has in Carolina.
Cook’s health is a concern too when looking at durability and his next contract, as he has missed time both at Florida State in college and at the professional level.
He tore his shoulder labrum twice as a Seminole (2014 and 2016), and once in the league, Cook tore his ACL only a few games into his rookie season, and fought through hamstring and shoulder injuries, with the bum shoulder being the reason his backup earned the start the final two games of the season while he rode the bench.
Who is Cook’s backup? He has become a much more household name as he has been given more and more run in his short career – Alexander Mattison.
Even in limited duty, Mattison was still a very solid no. 2 option for Minnesota last year, rushing for 462 yards (4.62 yards per carry) all while producing an 83.3 percent catch rate and 82 receiving yards (8.2 yards per reception). While that pales in comparison to Cook’s 1,135 rushing yards and 519 receiving yards, Mattison showed that he can step right in and fill the production that Cook put up last year without the offense truly missing a beat.
With the offseason trade of wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills, the team invested one of their two first-round selections on LSU receiver Justin Jefferson, and while Adam Thielen still is the team’s no. 1 target, the passing game may need to rely more on the rushing attack to remain a balanced, two-way scheme. Offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, who left to become the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, ran a run-centric scheme that helped maximize the talents of Cook and Mattison, and with Gary Kubiak transitioning back into the coaching booth as the team’s new OC, the run-centric scheme and heavy use of play-action to keep the defense guessing should continue, helping give the RB’s a consistent helping of touches.
Mattison is one of the league’s best handcuffs, as he can slot into an offense that depends on heavy touches for its running backs, guaranteeing 20+ touches through both the air and ground in practically every game and every winning or losing situation. For Mattison, while he may not completely be ready to fully take on the bell cow role, he has shown (in limited glimpses) that he has the tools and athleticism to become the next starting back if called upon.
Cook’s health was in a much better place than what he had typically been in his career (except for late in the year), and the number of snaps that Cook hoarded showed up in the lack of playing time that Mattison earned last year, as he was only on the field for more than 30% of a game’s offensive plays twice in the 13 games that he played in with the Vikings. In one of those two games, Mattison earned 48% of the RB snaps, but only earned eight lousy touches, which can be attained to a wide variety of aspects, including score, game plan, and scheme elements.
A slight glimmer of optimism from that same game where he only earned eight touches (a Week 13, 37-30 loss to the Seattle Seahawks) saw Mattison turn his four receptions into 51 yards, showing that he can ultimately be dangerous with the ball for the Vikings, even if it is in a limited capacity.
Cook is ultimately and obviously the best running back on the Vikings roster, and that should not change for a while, seeing as how Cook is looked at as one of the five best (besides CMC, Saquon Barkley, and others) running backs in the NFL. And any sort of holdout that lasts into the season would be hugely detrimental to the chances of the Vikings finally getting out of the NFC North division with either a postseason appearance or a divisional title.
However, Mattison is not like most backup running backs – his familiarity with the system, even with the transition in between OC’s, makes for a very solid backup plan for the Vikings to fall back on, if Cook decides to take the route make popular by some running backs before him. Mattison could become the running back of the future for Minnesota if they decide to let Cook play out his current deal and not resign him this offseason (no reports of this being the case, as of right now), which bodes very well for the cashless Vikings, who have placed themselves in a very tough situation with how they have financially handled their roster.
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