Arians: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Face 'Great Challenge' in Vikings' RB Dalvin Cook
Three years ago, Florida State running back Dalvin Cook was the third running back taken in the 2017 NFL Draft, behind only LSU's Leonard Fournette and Stanford's Christian McCaffrey. At the time, Bruce Arians was entering what would be his final season as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
Flash forward to 2020, now the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arians finds himself preparing to attempt to slow down Cook and the Minnesota Vikings' rushing attack when they come to town Sunday.
“[They are] dynamic," Arians said about the Vikings' offense which ranks fourth in the NFL in total yards this season. "Dalvin’s one of the best backs – arguably the best back – in the league right now, and they feature him. He’s a great zone runner, he’s a downhill runner, one cut [and a] hard tackle. It’s going to be a great challenge defensively."
Arians admitted Cook was a top target of the Cardinals entering the 2017 draft. And Arizona was in a spot to take him. Cook had fallen out of the first round to much surprise and the franchise had an early second-round pick.
Instead, the Cardinal selected Washington safety Budda Baker with the 36th overall pick in the second round. Five picks later, the Vikings grabbed Cook.
“From what I remember, we had high grades on him," Arians said about Cook. "He could do everything. There’s been some really good backs coming out of Florida State in the last few years and we had [him] as a ‘can’t miss’ guy. Whether he could do it off the field, that’s the same question you have with every single one of these young guys anymore. Can they handle it off the field? He’s done a great, great job.”
In retrospect, selecting Baker has paid off for the Cardinals as he has been named a Pro Bowler all three years since entering the league. In 2019, he led all defensive backs with a career-high 147 tackles, including a league-high 104 solo tackles.
Meanwhile, Cook was also named a Pro Bowler in 2019 after finishing the regular season with 1,135 rushing yards, 10th-most in the NFL. This season, Cook's 1,250 rushing yards, in just 11 games, is second behind only Tennessee's Derrick Henry.
Arians spoke about the difficulty of stopping Cook while also trying to apply pressure on Vikings' quarterback Kirk Cousins. The Bucs this season have been among the best at stopping the run. Tampa Bay's defense has held opponents to 74.2 rushing yards per game, which ranks first in the league.
“I think it’s a fine line when you think you’re going to pressure the quarterback, but you’ve got to have gap control when you are blitzing to make sure he doesn’t get out," Arians said. "Once [Cook] breaks it, it’s usually going to the house, so we have to have great gap control [and] great discipline when we’re blitzing and when we’re not blitzing.”
While the Vikings have Cook, the Buccaneers feature Ronald Jones in a crowded running back room which includes Fournette and LeSean McCoy. Jones explained why Cook is such a dangerous running back and shared he can learn a thing or two from Cook.
“Obviously, he’s a top-two rusher right now," Jones said about Cook. "I think, with him, it’s the vision and his footwork is really good. I definitely watch his film and things like that. I’m always looking to add things to my game. He’s definitely one of the top dogs at the position right now.”
