The Dalvin Cook Discussion Thread

[psfox2010]

Agree completely. I was very surprised. Thought it was pretty disappointing and probably knocks him down my list of preferred RBs. I felt like it was his opportunity to squash any concerns that were created by his poor combine showing, but instead he didn't change the story at all. Basically tells me that his poor combine was the reality and not just a bad day.

[koalabear]

Reckon he's on a promise to Tampa?

Baffling Combine and pro day.

[nathanq42]

I dont worry about his combine numbers. On tape he is the fastest on the field often by a decent margin. And there is so much more to football agility (in the sense of making people miss) than a 3 cone drill or shuttle.

[nbigley325]

I'm really torn. Being an owner of the 1.1 and having watched a decent amount of tape of all 4 of the top RBS everything in my body is telling me cook is a 3 down back at the next level. I think his speed and acceleration don't show fully in his 40 time. I also think he has excellent vision and patience to follow his blockers which may be the most important trait of all. That being said everybody is down on him now which gets at me subconsciously. Does everybody have fournette as their #1? I honestly think for fantasy purposes Mixon and Cook are the best. Maybe Mixon straight up if not for the character concerns.

[kasermap]

I'm really torn. Being an owner of the 1.1 and having watched a decent amount of tape of all 4 of the top RBS everything in my body is telling me cook is a 3 down back at the next level. I think his speed and acceleration don't show fully in his 40 time. I also think he has excellent vision and patience to follow his blockers which may be the most important trait of all. That being said everybody is down on him now which gets at me subconsciously. Does everybody have fournette as their #1? I honestly think for fantasy purposes Mixon and Cook are the best. Maybe Mixon straight up if not for the character concerns.

Cook has character concerns as well, just no videos (yet), but also has 3 shoulder surgeries to boot. I understand he played through the injuries but they start to add up. Mixon doesn't have the injury history which is another reason why he is my 1.1.

[schiewerma21]

The issue here is the combine exposed him.

So let's talk about film. I like many of you have watched literally every clip and charted every play available on draft breakdown. Also watch a considerable amount of college football. So let's break it down from what we "knew" on tape from the "top 4 backs" at the combine.

Fournette- size speed freak. Not much wiggle. Not a threat in passing game. 240/4.51/didn't do shuttle drills cause he knew he would get exposed. Check!
Mccaffey- the best phone booth quickness in a while at rb. Backs that up with the most impressive three cone in like 2 decades. Lacks power and size. Weighs in at 202 check!
Kamara- watching the kid you knew his short burst was special but not great long speed. Goes out jumps better than everyone. Mediocre long speed top sparq score. Check!
Cook- what the heck? Now I KNEW and I said it a billion times on here go look at my previous posts that this kid wasn't going to have the elite long speed his pre combine comparable of Charles and McCoy had. That said 4.49 is exactly around what I expected. That's not a bad time for 210... in fact it's slightly above average. But makes you question if like mg3 in 2015 who was "mr. Big play" in college and ran 4.52... if the big plays are going to be there for him. So far for Gordon the answer has been no in 2 years. But the thing that blew me away I thought this kid was to blow the doors off the shuttle and three cone. I mean his other comparison is mccoy (who didn't run a fast 40 either) but dominated the agility drills. And that's what we saw on tape. Turns out he runs the second worst 3-cone of anyone there. Including a two down thumper like perijne.

I know that was long but maybe for some of you who don't "watch film" you got a valuable take! I don't have cook but it is a piece of the puzzle. Very poor athlete, fumbles, character concerns and 3 shoulder surgeries? We shouldn't still be talking about this kid as 1.01 in a loaded class. 1.03/1.04? I'm good with that still. Not 1/2

[Igwebuike 4 Prez]

If Cook tests poorly in drills (that don't come close the replicating 11-on-11 game situations), what did he have to gain by doing the same drills again?

I haven't changed my stance on Cook since before the Combine. Why? Nothing about him as a PLAYER has changed. He is still my 1.02. Major injuries and arrests are really the only factors that should drastically affect player rankings between bowl season and the draft. A questionable Combine doesn't nullify the tape.

[James McGhee]

I dont worry about his combine numbers. On tape he is the fastest on the field often by a decent margin. And there is so much more to football agility (in the sense of making people miss) than a 3 cone drill or shuttle.

The fastest guy on the field with college players. As was stated in the Mixon 1.01 post, it's easier to look good (and fast) at the college level.

[Friction]

Good analysis and breakdown of the above players. Though the one thing when people say Fournette is not a threat in the passing game, I am not so sure about that. LSU is definitely one of the poorest offense in that regard or even to look at too deep into their WRs statistics. Almost the worst QB play out there recently, at least amongst the contenders. Not saying he will be some PPR monster, we really do not know, but when they targeted him, he seemed to do just fine. The Wisconsin game off the top of my head he had a couple of really nice catches. I just think (and I know we hear this a lot), a good coach/coordinator will get the ball in their best player's hands. I think even when we classify a guy as a thumper, which Fournette, Perine, Foreman could all very well end up being (less-so Fournette), I hope it does not become Blount type thumpin'. Will they get 6-8 targets per game, no, but how many backs even see that on a regular basis. I recall Crowell being somewhat spoken in the same light after Duke's rookie year, maybe even before. his targets were ok last year. But then of course you get Alfred Morris, Fat Rob, etc., so the hopes is Fournette gets utilized somewhere in between.

[kasermap]

Good analysis and breakdown of the above players. Though the one thing when people say Fournette is not a threat in the passing game, I am not so sure about that. LSU is definitely one of the poorest offense in that regard or even to look at too deep into their WRs statistics. Almost the worst QB play out there recently, at least amongst the contenders. Not saying he will be some PPR monster, we really do not know, but when they targeted him, he seemed to do just fine. The Wisconsin game off the top of my head he had a couple of really nice catches. I just think (and I know we hear this a lot), a good coach/coordinator will get the ball in their best player's hands. I think even when we classify a guy as a thumper, which Fournette, Perine, Foreman could all very well end up being (less-so Fournette), I hope it does not become Blount type thumpin'. Will they get 6-8 targets per game, no, but how many backs even see that on a regular basis. I recall Crowell being somewhat spoken in the same light after Duke's rookie year, maybe even before. his targets were ok last year. But then of course you get Alfred Morris, Fat Rob, etc., so the hopes is Fournette gets utilized somewhere in between.

That summed up my thoughts on Fournette in the passing game. I think given the chance he could surprise some people.

[Phaded]

That seems to be the initial report..

Ugh. Very unfortunate.

[nathanq42]

This seems to be the year of injury

[Coogan Football]

Just karma catching up to him from abusing those puppies back in Tallahassee


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sbnati ... rida-state

[Friction]

All over MN message boards/forums everyone was saying it was just cramps. Sure did not look like it to me.

[Cameron Giles]

When they showed the replay, he immediately went to grab his knee while he was running. Looked like it. Shame, he was having a very good rookie season.