NFL News: Dalvin Cook flies up fantasy RB charts
The Vikings traded up to draft the RB from Florida State. Now, it appears he's in line to get the bulk of the carries.
Dalvin Cook was a statistical machine at Florida State.
The running back gained more than 2,200 total yards as a junior last season and scored 20 touchdowns in two-consecutive years, breaking records along the way. He was fast and he was versatile, able to catch passes and block when needed.
Cook was expected to go as high as the first round, but dropped to Round 2 after teams were worried about an injured shoulder, and a laundry list of off-field problems he's produced in his short life.
The Vikings saw an opening, however, and traded up to get Cook despite acquiring Oakland's Latavius Murray in free agency for three years and $15 million.
Immediately, however, analysts predicted Cook could make an impact. It looks like he'll make a big one.
SportsLine's Optimal Rankings Cheat Sheets, developed by data engineer Stephen Oh, have come out with updated projections, and Cook can now be considered a major player in the fantasy draft market.
Cook is rated as No. 13 among all running backs. That number is up from No. 21 just a few weeks ago.
In the process, Cook has leapfrogged over the likes of Lamar Miller, Ezekiel Elliott and Leonard Fournette.
In the preseason opener against Buffalo, Cook rushed five times for 13 yards, but caught four passes for 30 yards. He got more opportunity in the second game at Seattle, and ran seven times for 40 yards.
Murray returned to practice on Sunday after recovering from offseason ankle surgery, and is expected to play in the Vikings’ final two preseason games. Jerick McKinnon is also in the backfield mix.
There is speculation Cook has earned the starting job, with Murray as a goal-line and third-down option.
But Cook has established himself as someone worthy of a lead role. Murray opened as 48th on the running back cheat sheet, but with Cook’s emergence, that’s dropped to 60th.
Which running backs should you have on your “must-draft” list -- and where should you draft them for a value? Visit SportsLine's cheat sheets to get rankings from the same model that powered all three fantasy sites and find out.
