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In the ultra-competitive world of fantasy football, everyone is always looking for an edge up on every team. Seeing that everybody is obsessed with finding the perfect sleeper, it is only fitting that every fantasy football fanatic collectively take a good long look at Tennessee Titans rookie running back David Cobb. Despite rushing for the eleventh-most yards and having the third-most amount of carries at the FBS level in 2014, there’s a good chance that most people don’t know or have only just heard the name David Cobb.
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Cobb, a fifth-round pick by Tennessee in the most recent draft, played collegiate football at the University of Minnesota, having very humble beginnings as a walk-on his freshman season. He earned the starting job his junior season and was the heart and soul of the Golden Gophers offense for the past two years. His senior season he rushed for 13 touchdowns and set the single-season record for most rushing yards by a Golden Gopher. That's an impressive feat considering Minnesota is most known for producing NFL running backs. Darrell Thompson, Chris Darkins, Thomas Tapeh, Laurence Maroney, Thomas Hamner, Marion Barber Jr. and Marion Barber III have all donned the maroon and gold in the last twenty-five years.
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Cobb proved with the Golden Gophers that he could be a work-horse running back, having rushed the ball 314 times in 2014. One would figure that being a work-horse would be one of the easier transitions to make from collegiate running back to the NFL level.
He has also proven that he can still perform through injuries, having a great senior season despite having to deal with hamstring injuries that sidelined him for a short portion of the year. Cobb even ran for 81 yards with 31 receiving yards while on an injured hamstring in the Gophers 17-33 loss in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl to the University of Missouri whose defensive line was the strong suit of the team, featuring two players picked in the 2015 draft, Shane Ray and Markus Golden. Possessing the ability to play through pain and being a work-horse running back is perfect for Cobb’s north-south style of play. He can best be described as a physical grinder who can throw his 230 pounds of muscle around.
Hailing from the North Star State and having seen every game of Cobb’s Golden Gopher career I can say that while he is a powerful, bruising back, he does possess surprisingly fast speed for a player his size. That being said, he isn’t necessarily the most instinctive running back in the game either, having just two choices per play; Option A or Option A. Luckily, smarts and decision-making can be taught much more easily at the NFL level than 5’11, 230 can be.
Due to his style of play, Cobb will never be a flashy player that makes mind-boggling plays but he can be an excellent goal line back due to his size. While a fair share of his red-zone work was stolen by running quarterback and amateur brick-thrower Mitch Leidner, his skills remain equally as impressive. The only difficulty that could occur is his translation of his style of play to the NFL where players are grown men and significantly bigger and stronger than they are at the collegiate level.
It’s very hard to try and figure out where Cobb should be taken in fantasy leagues as he won’t be the week one starter. He does possess upside as the backup because injuries and poor play can obviously occur in Tennessee. With 2014 second-rounder Bishop Sankey as the starter, one of the two is bound to happen no later than mid-season.
Perhaps after the likes of Ameer Abdullah and Joseph Randle-esque players, where managers are drafting purely on potential should one look to take Cobb. He certainly has the opportunity to become the next surprise fantasy football running back out of the blue, ala C.J. Anderson. At his current ADP of the mid-9th round, he's not much of a risk to take on.
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