Dalvin Cook Joins The Dallas Cowboys
Well, would you look at that? The Dallas Cowboys are making moves in free agency! Before we get too excited over here if you’re rocking with the Dallas Cowboys like I am, let’s keep in mind that this move is right up the Joneses’ alley as they like to bargain hunt during the free agency. According to reports, free agent running back Dalvin Cook is signing with the Dallas Cowboys but he’ll start on the practice squad.
A day after visiting with the Cowboys, veteran RB Dalvin Cook is signing with the club’s practice squad, according to sources. Tuesday’s workout went well and Cook was in good shape. He can be called up from the PS and play Week 1 if needed.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) August 28, 2024
This will allow Dalvin Cook to acclimate to the Cowboys’ offense as there are less than two weeks left until the start of the regular season. With Cook on the practice squad, they can bring him up to the active roster three times before either signing him to the 53-man roster or releasing him (but they could sign him later). At first glance, I did believe that signing was an addition to the active roster as opposed to the practice squad. That would have had more questions about the immediate usage for Cook and what they could’ve looked like to begin the season.
OK. Fantasy football reaction to the Dalvin Cook signing with the Cowboys:
– How will they use him? If he’s sharing snaps w/ Zeke they could eat into each other’s ceiling.
– Rico Dowdle takes a hit if Cook is going to eventually be a starter-level back.
– Zeke’s fantasy value…— William Spencer III (@hype_phinest) August 28, 2024
But with more details becoming clear like Cook starting on the practice squad, here’s my take on Dalvin Cook being added to the Cowboys and what that could mean moving forward.
Let Dalvin Cook
With the addition of Dalvin Cook to the roster, there are some positive notes that fantasy managers should consider. But before I say what those are, understand that unless you’re in a deep league with a huge bench (and I already added Cook in some of my deeper leagues as I wrote out this sentence), you shouldn’t bother adding Dalvin Cook to your rosters. As stated earlier, Cook will begin the season on the practice squad while he gets up to speed in the team’s offense. So as it stands for week 1, Cook won’t likely have any fantasy value. He’ll be going undrafted or at minimum, a late-round stash. Ezekiel Elliott will remain the starting running back for the Cowboys. Elliott already has a firm grasp on the system and should be locked in on the goal line and third down roles.
Elliott is being drafted in the later part of the eighth round in PPR formats which makes sense. Fantasy managers are leery of Elliott’s potential despite being in a run game that needs an uptick in production after finishing in the middle of the pack last season under Tony Pollard. The Cowboys attempted to fix the offensive line this offseason by adding rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton and new rookie center Cooper Beebe, who won their respective spots this offseason. These key pieces could open holes in the run game for a healthy Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook.
The Cowboys run offense ranked 14th overall at the end of the 2023 season but that’s not where the Cowboys want to be. The Cowboys also had just 14 rushing touchdowns last season despite leading the league in red zone attempts with 71. Dak Prescott was asked to carry the team with a lackluster rushing attack that often failed to punch it in when under the five-yard line. Pollard ranked 29th among running backs in 2023 in usage under the five-yard line, unable to punch a touchdown from that mark.
Dalvin Cook had a forgettable season with the New York Jets in 2023 but to be fair, the Jets’ offensive line was not great either. Pro Football Focus ranked the Jets’ line 24th overall and they struggled in the red zone. If you thought Tony Pollard was bad, Breece Hall struggled in the red zone, punching in just one touchdown from inside the five. But when Cook got with the Ravens later that season, he looked like he had some giddy-up.
Dalvin Cook in January pic.twitter.com/ST9vPVRYko
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 27, 2024
If the Ravens’ version of Dalvin Cook still exists, we could get a new version of the tandem backfield with Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook later this season. We could see a similar split in snaps as seen in 2022 between Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. Elliott wore down defenses and allowed Pollard to strike for big chunk plays with his speed. Both backs are solid in the passing game so they could almost be interchangeable if Cook can show he can be good in pass protection. In 2022, Pollard and Elliott split snaps almost evenly with a 35.6 to 37.2 share. If that’s the case, expect to see Dalvin Cook hit the waiver wire articles at some point during the season as a pick-up should he be able to get on board with the Cowboys. Cook’s presence could hurt the upside of running back Rico Dowdle, who’s been the “People’s Champ” in fantasy circles this offseason. Cook can do nearly everything that Dowdle can do so he could lose snaps to Cook later in the season.
Despite his stint with the Jets, Cook is just one season removed from a thousand-yard season with the Minnesota Vikings and an RB11 finish in 2022. One thing folks don’t like to admit is that when running backs get older, they need help up front. Fixing the offensive line for the Cowboys could be the thing that helps spring Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook this season and should Cook become a viable option in tandem with Elliott this year, you may want to consider adding him to your fantasy rosters. If he does indeed make the 53-man roster…
