Vikings rookie running back Dalvin Cook drew raves during rookie minicamp. That has continued during organized team activities.
Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said Wednesday on the second day of OTAs that the second-round pick is fitting in quite well.
“He certainly caught our eye in the rookie stuff,’’ Shurmur said. “Now that he’s in with the vets, you can still see all the things that we saw. He’s a very instinctive runner. He’ll get his foot down and gets up the field. He’s actually pretty instinctive when it comes to who to block in pass protection and he catches the ball extremely well … He’s making good progress.’’
Still, Cook isn’t working much with the first team yet. Getting most of those reps Wednesday was four-year veteran Jerick McKinnon.
The Vikings are looking for a replacement for running back Adrian Peterson, who wasn’t brought back as a free agent and signed with New Orleans. While most observers believe it eventually will be a two-way race between Cook and Latavius Murray, who is out for all of spring drills following angle surgery, McKinnon considers himself very much in the mix.
“Don’t count me out,’’ McKinnon said. “That’s always my goal (to start).’’
THE WRIGHT STUFF
Jarius Wright insisted he wasn’t bothered by the signing this month of free agent Michael Floyd, who will compete with Wright for time at wide receiver.
The Vikings also took receivers Rodney Adams and Stacy Coley in last month’s draft. There’s suddenly a logjam at the position, with Wright trying to get more playing time after being used sparingly last season.
“I don’t care about (the acquisitions at receiver),’’ Wright said. “I’m going to be the same guy. You can bring in a thousand receivers and Jarius Wright won’t change. That’s just my mind-set. I’m going to go out and be me every day. I’m a playmaker, so I’m going to make plays.’’
REPLACING GREENWAY
The Vikings are looking to replace starting outside linebacker Chad Greenway, who retired. On Wednesday, getting most of the first-team reps was third-year man Edmond Robinson.
Emmanuel Lamur is also a candidate for the spot, but he didn’t practice because of an undisclosed situation. Rookies Ben Gedeon and Elijah Lee also could get a look, although Gedeon might be regarded as more of a middle linebacker.
“It’ll be a competition,’’ Vikings linebacker coach Adam Zimmer said of replacing Greenway. “We’re going to give everybody a chance to see who the best one is. I’m not worried about it. I think he have a lot of talent in the room, and eventually it will shake itself out.’’
