The Dynasty Fantasy Football Impact of Dalvin Cook signing with Dallas
If you had a chance to have a running back with over 15,000 rushing yards, 2,500 receiving yards, and 137 touchdowns, would you take it? Well, the Cowboys have it. The only problem is it comes in two packages now as they currently boast both longtime veteran Ezekiel Elliott and a newly signed Dalvin Cook. Combined, these two have been two of the most productive running backs in fantasy and reality over the better part of the past decade, putting up those ridiculous numbers combined. Dallas famously passed on running backs in the 2024 NFL Draft and didn’t sign any of the big-name free agents this Summer, instead looking to build a stable of players they think can contribute and looking to save money in the process. After signing Cook, it seems pretty clear this may be a very frustrating running back by committee situation. Let’s break down the values of the players involved after Cook signed his deal today.
Dalvin Cook, RB DAL
Cook has had one strange journey over the past few years. His time with the Minnesota Vikings was tremendous. However, after four straight seasons with at least 1,000 yards, Minnesota decided to part ways with Cook last off-season. He signed with the Jets but it turned out to be an unmitigated disaster as he posted just 214 rushing yards, 15 catches, an anemic 78 receiving yards, and failed to score a touchdown in 15 games played. With Breece Hall healthy last year, New York simply phased Cook out of the offense and hardly gave him much of a chance. After requesting his release, he signed with Baltimore late last season but didn’t see the field during the last few games or the postseason.
In Dallas, Cook will have a chance to prove himself on the practice squad before being moved up to the active roster – that should happen in short order or Cook likely wouldn’t have signed there. Dallas is a great landing spot for the simple fact that nobody has established themselves as the lead back this off-season. While Elliott provides a veteran presence, his last year in New England was a mess and he wasn’t that great his last year in Dallas, either. Rico Dowdle has had his moments but the Cowboys clearly don’t think he’s ready to just carry the mail. As a result, Cook should have every opportunity to prove he’s capable of another big workload and while his days of being a bellcow runner may be over, he could find himself as a “1A” to a “1B” in some kind of committee. In short, Cook looks roster worthy as he signed on to a team completely scrambling at the position but expectations should still be tempered as we haven’t seen anything to believe Cook is more than a shell of his former self recently. His ADP should rise in the coming weeks as hope will always spring eternal.
Ezekiel Elliott, RB DAL
After a long run as an RB1 in dynasty leagues, Elliott took a serious step back last year in New England. On the year, he posted just 642 rushing yards (on a pedestrian 3.5 yards per carry) with 51 catches for 313 more yards and five total touchdowns. To be quite honest, Elliott looked cooked (pun intended). After signing with Dallas this off-season and seeing them pass on adding more talent, Elliott was poised to be the main running back this season. However, the addition of Cook likely throws some cold water on that idea. It certainly looks like Dallas is going to simply ride the hot hand and while Elliott may get the first shot at the lion’s share of the carries, we’ve seen little more than a fairly effective goal-line back from him in recent years – expecting that to change would be hard to justify. Elliott remains roster-worthy but you have to wonder just when he’s going to officially reach roster clogger status.
Rico Dowdle, RB DAL
Going into the off-season, there was a lot of hope for Dowdle to emerge as a viable candidate to be the lead back. Unfortunately, he did little this off-season to make many believe he can truly be a starter in the NFL, no less in dynasty leagues. Dowdle still has more long-term potential than any other running back on the roster but it’s clearly a disappointing chain of events to see Cook added to the roster. If Dallas was truly excited about Dowdle’s future, it’s hard to see them justifying the signing of Cook. Dowdle is a hold in dynasty leagues but this is a frustrating signing to say the least.
Deuce Vaughn, RB DAL
Some were surprised Vaughn made the final roster but he’s shown some solid flashes over the past couple of years. Unfortunately, the addition of Cook is going to bury him on the roster and make it very difficult for him to get playing time. While he’s still a moderately exciting dynasty stash, it’s hard to see him taking much of a step forward this season now that he’s in an even more crowded backfield.
Malik Davis, RB DAL
Davis is going to join Cook on the practice squad for the time being as he cleared waivers and signed back on with the Cowboys this afternoon. There’s still some intrigue with him but it seems he’s light years away from relevance and it’s going to be very tough for anyone to keep him on a dynasty roster after Vaughn was kept over him and Cook was signed later in the week. In short, you can move along.
Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
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