Tarik Cohen Fan Club

[Vcize]

He took a couple monster hits. Plus he broke several arm tackles and plowed over Trufant (not that Trufant is huge but there is quite a size difference) for his TD.

I don't call this a monster hit. He was able to see it coming and squared his shoulder. it was a hard hit, but very clean hit where the pads take the brunt of the impact. Hardly the type of hit that results in an injury and more likely a standard hit in the NFL.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaf5Ez9mHnU

I'm pretty big on Cohen and have been sending offers out for him in all my leagues, but this is pretty silly. That's pretty much as big of a legal hit as you can take in the modern NFL.

Again, I like Cohen a lot, but the whole "he avoids big hits" take is pretty weird coming off a game where he took two pretty big hits on only 14 touches. That was probably the highest big hit to touch ratio in the entire league for RBs last week.

[keebs3]

I'll probably offer a 3rd for him. I might be willing to toss in one of my WR's as I won't be able to keep all of them anyway. I don't think I'd move a 2nd.

[Jfever]

No chance I'm moving a 2nd for him. I think I'd sell if I owned him for a projected early 2nd. Lots of people wearing rose tinted glasses after week one. Understandable I guess. It happens every year. General rule of thumb is to not overspend on any player that flashes in week one. I'm sure he does have a chance to carve out a role as a D.Sproles type back in ppr. But.... lets please take a step back and remind ourselves of just how "likely" that is.

It isn't likely that he
A. can physically do what Sproles has done over time as far as durability is concerned.
B. That Chicago as a franchise will consistently use him in that role at a level that is fantasy conducive.
C. Can continue to do what he did now that the 31 other NFL teams have direct access to film of him vs NFL level competition.

** bottom line is - he isn't going to surprise anyone now that he surprised Atlanta. No way they saw him coming. No way they game prepped for that type of offensive scheme. They assuredly were ready for J.Howard. Not so much for Cohen. Now... Any Defensive coordinator that has Chicago on their schedule, will take the steps necessary to minimize his effects.

*** IN conclusion; I'm of the mind set that yes he is intriguing, but also, lets be realistic before we blow the bank and anoint him the NEXT D.Sproles after his 1st NFL game.

[Reljac]

Here's what BIG hits look like. Especially Monster hits, in my opinion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-1MQ0Cnbhs

[oppy]

Teams in two different leagues turned down Dion Lewis+3rd and Robby Anderson+3rd for Cohen, so people are definitely expecting a 2nd rounder+.

[Phaded]

I went back and watched the tape on him since I am in a bad situation for RB in both leagues. After watching the tape I decided to make moves for him in both leagues. I will take the chance and may catch some flack here but if anyone wants to get him this is what it took me.

Both are PPR leagues:

Give: Jimmy Graham
Get: Cohen

(6pt Pass TD)
Give: R Wilson, R Cobb, C Prosise
Get: D Carr, Cohen, D Foreman

[maxhyde]

Holding where I own him, but no way in hell would I give a 1st for him. He's a very exciting player, but he's still a COP/3rd down RB with who I think lacks a real path to lead back duties.

I don't throw 1st rookie picks at RBs litely, and when I do it isn't for a COP back who had one nice game. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he'll have a consistent role, and he probably just jammed Jordan Howard's ceiling down 3-4 feet, but I wouldn't even consider paying a 1st. I also think it's pretty foolhardy to automatically assume that Cohen will produce anywhere near this on a weekly basis. Seems like a week 1 overreaction IMO.

Exactly...one week of Sproles-like production is hardly a guy I am chasing down.
Don't see week1 as his floor but more likely a ceiling and doubt I would even pay a 2nd for that unless I was desperate for RB and knew that pick would be late

[Pac_Eddy]

I can see Cohen getting a lot of touches on Chicago. Both top WRs out, weak QBs. Howard will get his too. TDs will be hard to get, but catches & yards should be plentiful.

Cohen could be a great flex play for years in PPR & return leagues.

[rubber_duck]

Hmm .... any chance they move Cohen to WR and consistently line him up in the slot? Would that even be a decent fit for his skill set?

[Friction]

I am going to take a shot at thr WW on him. Not sure what percent of budget to use, but i said the same negatives about Tyfreek last year when he was free and i lost out. BBD are close to free as i will get with him, as i am not going to trade for his current value, but jn a rebuild he makes some sense as a stash for sure.

[Cameron Giles]

Hmm .... any chance they move Cohen to WR and consistently line him up in the slot? Would that even be a decent fit for his skill set?

The Browns did that with Duke Johnson in Week 1 and it's an awful idea.

I don't blame the Bears for pulling out all the plays for Cohen against the Falcons. They had no answer for him. However, now that it's on tape, you have to pick and choose your spots on when to do it. You can't make it your offense, otherwise teams will shut it down quickly and you'll risk durability for a 5'6 RB.

Sproles was awesome because you couldn't zero in on him. In his prime, he was always on a team with more talented receiving options. Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson, Malcolm Floyd, LaDainian Tomlinson in San Diego for instance. So if you wanted to run a wheel route downfield for Sproles, you could do it and get favorable coverage.

For Chicago there's nothing comparable currently.

[ColdZealDonkeyStrike]

He took a couple monster hits. Plus he broke several arm tackles and plowed over Trufant (not that Trufant is huge but there is quite a size difference) for his TD.

I dont get why were having this discussion. If the guy can handle playing in the NFL we should be praising the crap out of him. Not making threads of the "oh hes too small" variety to bring him down.

I think it's important to note the context he "plowed over Trufant" in. It was on the goalline alone in the flat. Cohen chopped his feet to prepare to juke, which would be the expected move from a player like him. With Trufant having to stop him right there with no room for error, he also broke down in order to be a able to move laterally left or right to match Cohen. Cohen then dropped his shoulder into Trufant who now had no forward drive and just grabbed on.

It's not a bad play and it still shows he can play with strength but it isn't like they hit each other with matching momentum. Trufant was screwed in the open field with a little guy like that and knew that if he cut hard either way he likely couldn't stop him from getting one yard.

Also, the thread isn't to denigrate him, it's to debate how much of an impact someone so small can have over a long time. It's the dynasty discussion thread, this is exactly the kind of debate it's here for. Even people who say his size will be limiting note that he is an impressive football player.

Thanks, yeah. It would actually be super exciting if this tiny guy could excell in today's NFL. I would like to see it.

I just think we're unlikely to.

One article I read even suggested that Chicago deliberately didn't throw to Cohen in preseason so other teams didn't get advanced tape on what to look out for. That seems like a red flag, like his game was depending on not being schemed against. Well, they have tape now.

Granted, teams hide stuff all the time. But not usually to the extent of keeping a rookie out of preseason action.

Preseason targets vs. production for a rookie is not something I have followed, but I remember the Cardinals saying they intentionally sat or didn't target (I don't remember which) Boldin as a rookie in the preseason.

[bill]

Here's another trade to give an idea of value....I picked him up an hour or so before kickoff. Few hours later, lost ARob for the season and needed WR help. Was able to flip Cohen for Willie Snead today. Thought that was a pretty good ROI for essentially taking a flyer on a guy.

[The Red Rooster]

His PPR REDRAFT value is pretty high right now...since the Bears have so many issues at WR. But in a dynasty league, I'd give a 4th...maybe. That's about it as he is a COP back and while it's prob not fair to say, and a bit of a crutch argument, I expect him to be hurt quite a bit thro his career because of his small frame.

Edit: I forgot to mention why I mentioned his redraft value! Haha. Cohen is all the rage right now on radio shows, main stream websites, etc. I think that is rubbing off on dynasty owners a bit and inflating his perceived value.

[Cowboysfan33]

How much of a $1000/season allowance would you bid on him?

Depends on league build....... non-ppr, .5-ppr, and full ppr. The less ppr, the less his potential ceiling is.

Full PPR.

Dynasty.

I don't know if your waivers ran tonight or not but most of my leagues run on Wednesday nights. Anyway, he was available in like six of my leagues and they are all 12 team PPR and he went for either the full amount or 2/3 of our bid dollars so you will need to bid high, I was able to get him in two. Maybe it's a gamble, because I don't like his size either but damn that's a lot of usage and production, I had to take a chance.