What do we make of Dalvin Cook? He’s not what he used to be, but he might be better than any of the other backs in Dallas.
At 29, Cook isn’t as dynamically explosive as he was early in his career. But Minnesota’s decision to part with him (prior to last season) was fueled in part by finances. They decided to go cheaper with Alexander Mattison (even though Mattison averaged a half yard less per carry in each of their last three years together).
Cook ran for over 1,100 yards in each of his last three seasons with the Vikings. In 2022, he had a pair of games over 100 yards, and four others over 90 (despite operating under less-than-ideal conditions).
In 2022 (Cook’s final season there) he averaged 69 rushing and 17 receiving yards, with 10 touchdowns, making him the 15th-best running back on a per-game basis (using PPR scoring).
| PER-GAME STATS FOR RUNNING BACKS (2022) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | Att | Run | No | Rec | Total | TD | FPG |
| Austin Ekeler, LAC | 17 | 12.0 | 53.8 | 6.3 | 42.5 | 96.3 | 1.06 | 22.3 |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car.-S.F. | 16 | 14.8 | 68.8 | 5.2 | 44.8 | 113.6 | .81 | 21.4 |
| Josh Jacobs, L.V. | 17 | 20.0 | 97.2 | 3.1 | 23.5 | 120.8 | .71 | 19.4 |
| Derrick Henry, Ten. | 16 | 21.8 | 96.1 | 2.1 | 24.9 | 121.0 | .81 | 19.0 |
| Saquon Barkley, NYG | 16 | 18.4 | 82.0 | 3.6 | 21.1 | 103.1 | .65 | 17.8 |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 14 | 15.0 | 58.1 | 4.3 | 31.5 | 89.6 | .64 | 17.1 |
| Nick Chubb, Cle. | 17 | 17.8 | 89.7 | 1.6 | 14.1 | 103.8 | .78 | 16.7 |
| Kenneth Walker, Sea. | 11 | 18.6 | 82.2 | 1.9 | 13.7 | 95.9 | .73 | 15.9 |
| James Conner, Ariz. | 13 | 14.1 | 60.2 | 3.5 | 23.1 | 83.2 | .62 | 15.6 |
| Tony Pollard, Dall. | 16 | 12.1 | 62.9 | 2.4 | 23.2 | 86.1 | .75 | 15.6 |
| Leonard Fournette, T.B. | 15 | 12.6 | 44.5 | 4.8 | 34.6 | 79.1 | .40 | 15.1 |
| Aaron Jones, G.B. | 17 | 12.5 | 65.9 | 3.5 | 23.2 | 89.2 | .43 | 15.0 |
| Rhamondre Stevenson, N.E. | 17 | 12.4 | 61.2 | 4.1 | 24.8 | 85.9 | .35 | 14.8 |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 15 | 14.9 | 59.8 | 3.8 | 32.7 | 92.5 | .27 | 14.6 |
| Dalvin Cook, Min. | 17 | 15.5 | 69.0 | 2.3 | 17.4 | 86.4 | .59 | 14.5 |
| Jonathan Taylor, Ind. | 11 | 17.5 | 78.3 | 2.5 | 13.0 | 91.3 | .36 | 13.9 |
| Travis Etienne, Jac. | 12 | 14.7 | 75.8 | 2.0 | 16.0 | 91.8 | .44 | 13.9 |
| D'Andre Swift, Det. | 14 | 7.1 | 38.7 | 3.4 | 27.8 | 66.5 | .60 | 13.7 |
| Jamaal Williams, Det. | 17 | 15.4 | 62.7 | .7 | 4.3 | 67.0 | 1.02 | 13.5 |
| Najee Harris, Pitt. | 17 | 16.0 | 60.8 | 2.4 | 13.5 | 74.3 | .59 | 13.4 |
| Dameon Pierce, Hou. | 13 | 16.9 | 72.2 | 2.3 | 12.7 | 84.9 | .38 | 13.1 |
| Miles Sanders, Phil. | 17 | 15.2 | 74.6 | 1.2 | 4.6 | 79.2 | .65 | 13.0 |
| Cam Akers, LAR | 9 | 14.8 | 66.1 | 1.2 | 11.0 | 77.1 | .67 | 12.9 |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 15 | 15.4 | 58.4 | 1.1 | 6.1 | 64.5 | .80 | 12.4 |
| Cordarrelle Patterson, Atl. | 12 | 11.6 | 56.4 | 1.6 | 10.1 | 66.5 | .67 | 12.2 |
| Jerick McKinnon, K.C. | 17 | 4.2 | 17.1 | 3.3 | 30.1 | 47.2 | .61 | 11.7 |
| D'Onta Foreman, Car. | 11 | 17.4 | 79.7 | .5 | 2.4 | 82.1 | .48 | 11.6 |
| Devin Singletary, Buff. | 16 | 11.1 | 51.2 | 2.4 | 17.5 | 68.7 | .38 | 11.5 |
| David Montgomery, Chi. | 16 | 12.6 | 50.1 | 2.1 | 19.8 | 69.8 | .38 | 11.4 |
| Jeff Wilson, S.F.-Mia. | 13 | 12.0 | 59.2 | 1.4 | 12.0 | 71.2 | .46 | 11.3 |
Cook wasn’t a factor last year. No getting around that. But he was stuck behind one of the top 5 backs in the league (Breece Hall), and also on a team that lost its quarterback four plays into the season.
Cook asked for his release late in the season, landing with the Ravens. He carried 8 times for 23 yards in their playoff win over Houston. He had a 19-yard run in that game where he looked capable enough. His other 7 carries, however, netted only 4 total yards. They didn’t use him the following week.
“When I got to Baltimore I was ready to go, I was ready to get the ball however many times they needed me to,” Cook said in an ESPN interview. “Unfortunately, I didn’t get it that much.”
He’s with the Cowboys now. Sort of. (They signed him to their practice squad, rather than their active roster.)
Expectations should be modest, but I don’t think he can quite be written off. He might have a little more left than Ezekiel Elliott (who’s also 29). The only other notable option there is Rico Dowdle, a fifth-year pro with 96 career carries.
In a fantasy league with about 80 running backs being selected, I could see throwing a last-round pick at Cook, controlling his rights for the first few weeks of the season while gauging if he has anything left.
—Ian Allan