Is it time for fantasy football owners to start worrying about Dalvin Cook?
Through the first two weeks of the season the bulldozing Minnesota Vikings running back ranks 28th in ESPN PPR leagues out of all qualified running backs.
Cook’s last’s game on Monday night versus the Eagles was especially concerning. He carried the ball just six times for 17 yards, hauling in four of six targets for 19 yards. The Vikings’ lost the game 24-7.
Fantasy owners are understandably upset. But perhaps they should relax before pushing the panic button on Cook.
Dalvin Cook Week 3 Fantasy Football Ranking & Analysis
Cook ranks as the #2 running back for Week 3 behind only Christian McCaffrey, per our Stokastic NFL Start/Sit Fantasy Football Rankings rankings.
The Vikings are set to play the Detroit Lions and their 32nd ranked run defense on Sunday afternoon.
Cook has just four rushing touchdowns in his last 275 attempts dating back to last season, good for one touchdown every 68.8 carries. That’s after scoring on every 19.3 carries during the previous two years of his career.
You could chalk that up to natural regression (which may be somewhat true), but it’s more likely that Cook will find the end zone at a much higher clip for the remainder of the season given his goal line prowess.
“I have all the confidence in the world in (Cook), and I’ve got to do a better job of making sure I get him in a rhythm,’’ Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said Wednesday.
Cook is confident in his coach, and he’s willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for how Monday’s game against the Eagles went down.
“You kind of have balance (it),’’ Cook said. “It’s kind of hard as a coach. … You’re down, you’re trying to score, we’re trying to win in a hostile environment, a lot of factors into play calling.”
Expect much higher volume out of Cook this Sunday.
