MINNEAPOLIS -- Dalvin Cook, still four months from playing his first NFL regular-season game, is not Adrian Peterson. His build and skill set are different than those of the three-time rushing champion, and during Cook's first season, the comparisons between his success and Peterson's decade with the Minnesota Vikings could become contrived and trite.

But if Cook wants to differentiate himself from Peterson, he'd do well to clean up two of the areas of his game where Peterson has historically struggled.

After parting ways with Peterson, the Vikings are again working to help a running back curb bad habits that can lead to fumbling. This time, it's with Cook, who fumbled 13 times at Florida State and came to Minnesota with new running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu ready to stay on his case about ball security.

"Like, when he's jogging back [to the huddle], he's got the ball all over [the place,]" Polamalu said. "It's, 'Hey, Dalvin, look: Every time you're out here, I want you to be aware -- get the ball high and tight, rub the paint off, all the way back. Every chance you get. Every time you touch the ball, get in the habit.' They say it takes, what, 30 days or whatever to break a bad habit? We've got all these days to break that one."

Cook said cutting down on his fumbles is at "the top of the list" of things he has to work on, along with pass protection -- another area where Peterson struggled over the years. While the act of picking up blitzes involves the ability to recognize and adjust to where teams are bringing pressure, the process of improving Cook's ball security is fairly straightforward.

"A lot of times it's about, one of the things we talked about in the meeting, five points of pressure, making sure the ball is high and tight," coach Mike Zimmer said. "Tiki Barber had an issue with it a while back and corrected it. A lot of it is points of emphasis, making sure you're doing it correctly, and understanding when you get into a crowd, you've got to put two hands on the ball."

Cook has already heard plenty from Polamalu about developing better habits with the ball in his hands, and will hear plenty more about it between now and the time players depart after the team's mandatory minicamp in mid-June. The second-round pick says he's ready to listen.

"Every coach can give you different techniques on how to carry the ball and what to do with the football, but it's all about you going out there and doing it," Cook said. "It's about taking the coaching and I'm willing to take the coaching in order to take that next step to taking care of the football. At this level turning the football over is going to help you lose games. So I'm not willing to jeopardize my team to lose games. I'm willing to take all of the coaching."