Why Dalvin Cook Fell In the 2017 NFL Draft

By rights Dalvin Cook should’ve been drafted in the 1st round of the 2017 NFL draft. His production and skill set proved that much.

He cut his teeth against some of the best teams in the country. A versatile back who compiled 5,399 yards from scrimmage and 48 touchdowns across three years at Florida State. It was 2016 that proved to be his best season overall. He didn’t miss any games. Sure there were some minor injury concerns but nothing significant enough to take him out of the conversation for the top 32 picks. He clearly was a talent that could carry a team on his back.

So what happened? How did he end up falling to the middle of the 2nd round, becoming the heir apparent to Adrian Peterson in Minnesota? Charlie Campbell of Walter Football offered some interesting revelations on that subject. Ones that paint a clear picture of the risk the Vikings took.

"“Sources say the reason why Cook slid was a combination of the medical evaluation and the off-the-field issues, but in speaking with sources at multiple teams that could have used an upgrade at running back, it sounds like the off-the-field portion was a bigger detriment to Cook than the medical report. Teams felt the medical issues were there, but minor. WalterFootball.com was first to report that there were some off-the-field concerns with Cook stemming from him having a group of old friends who were described as an entourage of gang-bangers. Cook had to reassure teams that his friends wouldn’t be following him to his NFL city, but some teams had doubts about that.”"

People often assume a player who gets in trouble means that player is just a bad apple. He was born that way. In truth that is far from always the case. Often it can be having a bast cast of friends around you that creates the biggest issues. In some cases it might be bad family members with ulterior motives. In others, like with Cook, it can be legitimate criminals. Such cases can be just a matter of time before those people rope a player into a very bad situation.

Maybe it’s drugs, or theft or even murder. Having watched NFL players go down dark paths like this before, it’s easier to see why teams felt Cooks’ talent wasn’t worth the risk.