Former Viking No. 2
Dalvin Cook - RB
Week 1 Stats:
- 12 carries
- 33 yards
Dalvin Cook believes he’s still a top running back in the NFL. His agent believes that finally getting surgery on his shoulder would unleash a new level to Cook’s performance.
Both of these may be true, but in Week 1, Cook looked like the same back that was blamed for Minnesota’s inefficiency on the ground last season.
Cook ran for just 33 yards on 12 carries in the New York Jets’ win over the Buffalo Bills and couldn’t find the big run that padded his stats one year ago. To make matters worse, Jets running back Breece Hall looked tremendous in his return from a torn ACL, running for 127 yards on just 10 carries.
Cook’s debut with the Jets could have gone worse (See: Rodgers, Aaron), but it likely wasn’t what the Jets had in mind when they signed him to a one-year, $7 million contract last month.
With Rodgers out for the season with a torn Achilles’ Cook will probably get more opportunities as New York leans on the running game. But Cook didn’t look much different and could struggle to find his footing this season.