Dalvin Cook clearly is the Vikings’ RB1, but he has never played a full season in his five NFL seasons. He missed four games last season after sitting out 21 in his first four seasons.
The Vikings have had Alexander Mattison behind Cook the past three seasons and will again this season.
They have upgraded the depth behind those two.
The Vikings selected North Carolina running back Ty Chandler in the fifth round of last month’s draft. He will join Kene Nwangwu on the depth chart behind Cook and Mattison.
“We’re in the NFL. Things happen. Guys go down,’’ Cook said, via Chris Tomasson of The Pioneer-Press.
Nwangwu, a fourth-round choice in 2021, played 11 games as a rookie and had only 17 touches for 70 yards but returned two of 18 kickoff returns for touchdowns.
The Vikings plan to get Nwangwu more involved on offense this season.
“He doesn’t have a ceiling,’’ Cook said. “He’s got it all. We see it on special teams. . . . The thing I haven’t seen is him run the ball more consistently and get the ball more. I think that’s going to happen coming up. He’s special with the ball in his hands, and I want to see him make more plays.”
