Dalvin Cook has made the Pro Bowl in each of the past four seasons. His 17.8 half-PPR points per game in fantasy football over that stretch ranks fourth at the position (behind only Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, and Austin Ekeler).
However, Cook is involved in a domestic abuse case and, at the moment, is without an employer. Cook turns 28 in August and has over 1,500 touches on his NFL résumé, but he played a full season in 2022 for the first time in his career and offers as much upside as he does uncertainty.
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The Current Fantasy Value Of Dalvin Cook
Some fantasy football leagues draft earlier than others. I’m drafting today, I’m making sure to have at least two running backs on my roster before I’m even considering Cook.
The market is currently pricing Cook as a top-60 player (RB21), and I think that’s a touch expensive. Yes, he could crack my top 15 at the position with a good landing spot and no suspension, but the inherent risk given his situation as it stands now outweighs that optimistic outcome for me.
As fantasy managers, we’re in the business of risk management. We are actuaries without a fancy degree (and without nearly as much at stake, but you understand what I’m getting at).
I’m fine with drafting Cook around his current ADP if you’ve built a stable foundation. I’m talking players like Stefon Diggs or Joe Mixon or the top tier of QB/TE. These players carry a high floor and give you the ability to roll the dice on Cook without needing him to return elite value.
But if you opt for more risk in the early rounds — players like Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker III, or Christian Watson, for example — passing on Cook is the prudent move.
I view James Conner as a feature RB with a safe role and Isiah Pacheco as a lead back on a safe offense. Both are going 1-2 rounds after Cook and are much better fits for the roster that needs someone they can count on.
That’s all as we sit here today. That’s the best we can do. But I was raised by a “you don’t have to get ready if you stay ready” pair of parents, so let’s tackle a few different scenarios.
No Dalvin Cook Suspension or Team as of Your Draft
No Cook suspension in this scenario means “no decision on a suspension.” If Cook is cleared of the legal process and the NFL chooses not to suspend him, he won’t be a free agent for long, and that’s a different story.
If you’re drafting in mid-August and the situation hasn’t changed from today, then teams are clearly operating with an abundance of caution … and so should you. That said, he’s still draftable, just not in the first five rounds.
In this world, I think the Cook vs. Cook debate would be a fun one, with James actually winning out over Dalvin for me. James has yet to really prove himself, but, at the moment, we know that he is the lead back in a top-five offense. That situation is enough for me to pencil him in over older brother, but not by much.
If this is the case come draft day, you can consider Dalvin a viable Flex option worthy of consideration starting in Round 7.
Strong Offense, Committee Backfield, 2-4 Game Suspension
Every team in the AFC East has been attached to Cook at one point or another. Three of them (Miami, New York, and Buffalo) all qualify under this header. Those teams all have either a young back they want to feature or an already crowded backfield, but they all also offer offensive upside that makes the chances of a ceiling season more likely.
As mentioned previously, Cook has missed time in five of six seasons, so sitting out September as he serves a suspension might not be the worst thing. Cook’s hit 95 total yards in five of six season debuts, making me confident that he can hit the ground running when first eligible. In this scenario, he’s a top-15 RB.
The Dolphins and Bills would love to hand the feature role to Cook while the Jets have Breece Hall returning from an ACL tear.
Limited Offense, Lead Role, 2-4 Game Suspension
The Chicago Bears fit this mold, and Cook could flirt with my top 10 at the position if this were to happen. With no teams on a bye during the first month of the season, your roster will have enough active bodies to cover for Cook during his missed time, and a ceiling season would very much be a possibility.
Across six seasons, Cook’s averaged nearly 5.2 yards per touch across his six seasons. If he lands on a roster where we can realistically pencil him in for 15-20 touches, Cook is going to be on plenty of my rosters.
Limited Offense, Unclear Role, 2-4 Game Suspension
The Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots, and Denver Broncos are also considered potential suitors for Cook. However, they all have a back atop their depth chart that they like.
Of these teams, the Cardinals would be the least appealing, given the Kyler Murray injury and the presence of James Conner. The other two would likely employ something of a 50-50 committee due to the talent they already have in house.
In any of these situations, Cook would see his value slide a bit from where it is now, but not as far as it did in the first hypothetical situation. In this event, he falls into a tier with D’Andre Swift (committee back on a strong offense), Rachaad White, and Cam Akers (theoretically featured backs on lesser offenses). That would put Cook in the late-fifth/early-sixth-round conversation, not terribly different from where he is at the moment.
What if Cook Receives a 6+ Game Suspension?
If this is the case, Cook falls outside of my top 100. Not only are you being asked to deal with him missing nearly half the fantasy regular season, but you’re also hoping that whatever team he lands on doesn’t strike gold with an RB early on.
Presumably, with a suspension like this, Cook has signed with a good team that doesn’t “need” him early on. If that’s a team like the Dolphins or the Bills, or even the Cowboys, the door is wide open for an RB currently on the roster to impress at a high level and marginalize any role Cook assumes when he does come back.
In this scenario, Cook remains a draftable fantasy asset, but one that I rank in the back end of the 30s at the position.
