Sansevere: Cook Will Kill in Fantasy
Got the first pick in your fantasy football draft?
Or maybe you play in an auction league.
Doesn’t matter. The guy at the very top of your draft board should be Dalvin Cook.
You get him and you might just have the player who will put up fantasy numbers like never before.
Arguments are being made by others that Christian McCaffrey or Derrick Henry should be viewed as the top fantasy player/running back.
Nope. It’s Dalvin.
And here’s why: Last season, Cook ran for 1,557 yards with 16 touchdowns, and also had 44 catches and another three scores for a 19 TD total. He put up those numbers in only 14 games.
This season, with 17 regular-season games, his numbers extrapolate to 1,891 rushing yards, 53 receptions and 23 total touchdowns.
It will be even better than that.
The reason is simple: The Vikings’ defense sucked last season and spent way too much time on the field. Which means the offense got fewer chances.
Cook got fewer chances.
There will be far more three-and-out series for opponents this year, and that will give Cook more opportunities to gobble chunks of yardage, move the chains, score touchdowns and help you win your league.
You know Mike Zimmer loves running the ball. You know he knows how good Cook is. And you know new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak knows to keep his job he’d better feature Cook a ton. So, 2,000-plus rushing yards, 25-plus touchdowns and 60-plus receptions are not outrageous possibilities for Cook.
Especially if the offensive line is better. (It can’t be worse, can it?)
Of course, there is a disclaimer here. Cook needs to stay healthy. Then again, that could be said for every player you draft.