The biggest position battle at Minnesota Vikings training camp happens to be a tussle to replace an all-time great.
Latavius Murray, Dalvin Cook and Jerick McKinnon will vie for snaps to take the job Adrian Peterson held for a decade as the Vikings' workhorse.
Cook was selected in the second round of the draft. Murray was signed as a free agent. One of the two will likely swipe the primary duties during camp, but Murray will start training camp on the PUP list. Neither, however, has any illusions that they will replace Peterson.
"He is a future Hall of Famer," Cook said Sunday, via the team's official website. "In my first year in the NFL, I am not as close to him, so I cannot compare myself to him at all because he is going to go down as one of the greatest backs in history probably so I just have just got to go out there and work and I cannot have that in my head."
Added Murray: "To be honest, I don't think anyone's looking at it that way. I think obviously we know that that guy was great in that uniform, but I think for everyone in the running back room right now, it's about the individual."
Cook enters camp with a lead on the top tailback role. Murray sat out offseason workouts after undergoing ankle surgery, but said Sunday his "health is really good."
The rookie boasts the most talent from the backfield, and coach Mike Zimmer cooed about Cook's vision, speed and tackle-breaking ability this summer. If Cook continues his ascent when the pads come on, he could run away with the starting gig.
