Young quarterbacks may get most of the attention but don’t sleep on Dalvin Cook rookie cards either. The 2020 season has already been one for the record books for the Minnesota Vikings workhorse. Even after missing some time due to injury, he leads the league in rushing and is on pace to have over 2,000 all-purpose yards and if said pace continues, he should assuredly receive some heavy MVP consideration.
The Cook Chronicles
The West Little River, FL native didn’t even attempt to try out for high school football team until his sophomore season, figuring there was no way he would get the opportunity to start ahead of fellow NFL running back Devonta Freeman who was a top running back at Miami Central high school at the time.
Once Cook joined the Rockets, it didn’t take long for him to blast off. He had an absolutely remarkable high school senior season, rushing for nearly 2,000 yards with over 30 touchdowns and an absurd 11 yards per rush average.
He was thrown many bouquets including being named Mr. Florida Football as well as a USA Today All-USA Football team member.
Cook played collegially at Florida State and showed no signs of slowing down his torrid pace, as he walked off the field for the last time as FSU’s all-time leading rusher, racking up nearly 4,500 yards on the ground. He was named First Team All-American and First Team All-ACC two consecutive seasons.
Cook with selected in the second round (41st overall) by the Minnesota Vikings in a 2017 NFL draft.
As a pro, his numbers have increased exponentially each year with more and more opportunities to carry the ball.
We narrowed the list of 55 true RCs down to a manageable number. Below is a shortlist consisting of three tiers of Dalvin Cook rookies to consider, depending on your budget.
MVP Contender Tier
1. 2017 Panini National Treasures #191 Dalvin Cook JSY AU RC #/99– This one sits at the highest end of the Cook rookie card spectrum, with a nice on card autograph and a jersey patch included. It’s worth noting that on this card you will find the closest that Cook comes to actually writing his full name. Most of the time, his signature is just a confluence of his initials, “DC”, and maybe his jersey number.
There are other autographed Cook cards in 2017 NT, but this one is the standard and with just 99 copies, demand should remain strong as long as his career continues to progress. A few can usually be found on eBay.
2. 2017 Panini Flawless #137 Dalvin Cook AU #/25 RC– This is a nice vertically designed card picturing Cook racing up the field with ball in hand. The high quality photo is accompanied by an equally high quality on card autograph (that’s really saying something for Dalvin Cook autographs). This example definitely sits in the top tier of Cook rookie card examples. An exceptionally nice, low-numbered card that’s still priced right.
3. 2017 Panini Majestic #112 Dalvin Cook JSY AU/25 RC – A very limited true RC numbered to a mere 25 copies, the Majestic rookie auto is accompanied by a Florida State Seminoles jersey swatch from his time in Tallahassee.
NFL Star Tier
1. 2017 Panini Contenders #309 Dalvin Cook AU RC – Contenders offers some of the most significant rookie cards for each season’s superstar freshmen. This one offers the now expected “ticket” design with the sticker auto. As Cook continues to rack up video game numbers, this is a card collectors will always clamor to get their hands on and right now, they’re still affordable for most.
2. 2017 Immaculate Collection #109 Dalvin Cook JSY AU/99 RC– Immaculate, as usual, offers a beautiful higher end product. This particular design offers a nice gold outline and classy layered design with an on-card auto (another full name version) accompanied by a nice, colorful jersey patch limited to just 99 copies issued. Prices aren’t as high as you might think.
3. 2017 Certified #213 Dalvin Cook JSY AU/149 RC– Certified is always a pretty good mid to lower end option for a quality jersey autograph rookie cards with relatively low serial numbering. The card features a jersey swatch as well as a sticker auto. With the print run of just 149 copies, this one is somewhat scarce yet affordable… at the moment.
Miami Central Tier
1. 2017 Donruss Optic #193 Dalvin Cook Rated Rookie RC– A lower end option with plenty of room for upward growth, Optic is a shinier version of its standard Donruss brother and it is always received very well within the collecting community. The Rated Rookie logo carries weight. As in most cases, it offers a nice, clean, timeless design with a photo shoot quality image.
There are a lot of different parallel versions, but the standard base card usually rings in at under 5 bucks for a nice ungraded copy.
2. 2017 Panini Prizm #231 Dalvin Cook RC– Love it or loathe it, Prizm has become a cornerstone of the hobby over the past decade. The rookie cards with Prizm branding are always in high demand and as a player heats up, the base cards in any sport tend to be among the most heavily traded and tracked. There are several parallel versions here, too, if you want to go the lower population route.
Prices for even high grade base Cook Prizm rookie cards remain fairly modest for now.
3. 2017 Panini Phoenix #110 Dalvin Cook RC– Phoenix has proven over the years to offer a sleek card design with the recognizable Phoenix logo. This is a solid example of a lower end rookie card that gives off a higher end vibe. There are parallels here, too, but most all are inexpensive. We wouldn’t be surprised to see this one do well in the long term.
Below is an up-to-the-minute look at the current ‘most watched’ Dalvin Cook card auctions on eBay.
![2017 Playoff RC Stallion Jersey #RS-DC Dalvin Cook - Minnesota Vikings [HTBX]](https://i.ebayimg.com/thumbs/images/g/5CMAAOSwK4Bm1S63/s-l140.jpg)
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